Potential in Remnant
by Gilgamesh The King of Heroes
Summary: You had won and made a life here, but prepare to live your life in the middle of another world. Prepare them for their greatest moment, prepare them for their finest hour. They must know what lies ahead, and fight for their place they call home. So help them search their hearts and pursue their true selves... Yu Narukami...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 or RWBY they are the property of their respective owners, any resemblance to any other Persona 4 or RWBY fan fiction is coincidental and plagiarism is not intended. No flames please constructive criticism only.**

 **AN: Ok so this was the winner of the poll and I decided to bring it back. I have however rewritten parts, so those read its last incarnation will most likely notice the differences between that version and this version.**

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As Yu Narukami took his seat on the train, he looked out the window to his friends who were all shouting goodbyes at him as they ran alongside the train which began pulling out of the station. He smiled gave them a wave back as they shrank from view.

The Fool felt his foot tap against something hard in his duffle bag which contained some supplies for the journey to where he'd be staying next. Most of his luggage had been sent ahead leaving only some small supplies that he would have to carry himself. He unzipped it and his eyes widened as he saw Totsuka-No-Tsurugi, the sword he had gotten after managing to defeat the Reaper after a long and gruelling battle, was in there resting in its sheath. He silently cursed and moved some clothes around to cover the sword and then quickly zipped the bag back up.

'I must have put in by mistake.' He thought to himself. 'I'll have to find an opportunity to send it to Yukiko.'

Indeed, being caught with a real weapon would be bad. He'd just have to hide it and have Yukiko keep it, after all, it wasn't odd to see decorative swords at an inn like hers.

Yu stared out at the scenery after putting away the picture he and all his friends had taken with Marie at the end of his stay in Inaba. All suddenly went dark as the train entered a tunnel. The Fool decided to rest his eyes for a moment and waited for the train to exit the tunnel. However, when he opened his eyes, he was most surprised to find that the passenger's in the train car were all mysteriously absent. Also, the appearance of the train itself had changed, almost as if he was in….

"Hello and welcome back to the Velvet Room" a familiar voice greeted his ears.

Yu looked and saw on one of the seats opposite him holding a tome was Margaret. Igor was not present but instead, there was another, a man wearing a black turtleneck shirt and black trousers fastened by a belt. A helmet-like mask that had a fearsome design. The mask covers the man's entire face as well as the top of his head and had two pairs of eyeslits through top pair of which, his eyes were visible. Its overall shape was more rounded and tapered to a sharp point, somewhat resembling a bird's skull.

Despite the ominous look of the mask, Yu he felt a sense of completion and purpose that humanity had long been searching for from the man, which didn't make much sense even to Yu but that was the best he could describe the feeling.

"Greetings Yu Narukami my name is Philemon and I have been watching you ever since your journey began," Philemon said introducing himself and extending a hand to Yu which he shook.

He abruptly released the hand when light suddenly came streaming through the windows. Yu stood up and walked over to the window. He gasped when saw an endless beautiful scene with fields full of flowers and great blue sky that stretch on forever.

"This is…"

"The world inside the hearts of humankind in its true form," Philemon said now standing next to Yu "It was you who helped lift the fog and now the hearts of man has never been clearer. Now there is a reason I called you here."

Yu sat back down and turned his attention back to Philemon who had also taken his seat.

"As I said I am Philemon and you may think of me as Igor's master. My purpose is to guide humanity to evolve beyond its base impulses and towards enlightenment." Philemon said "And I find myself in need of your assistance. You see there is another world separate from your own where a great many lives are in danger and unlike all the other the wielders of the Wild Card, Who have paid a high price to save humanity, you found a better path one that not even Igor nor the Velvet Room itself could initially foresee."

"Alright, but what is it you need me to do exactly?" Yu asked curiously, wondering where this conversation was going.

"The other world I mentioned is called Remnant. It houses another version of humanity alongside a people with animal features such as ears or tails amongst other traits called Faunus. On that world, humanity is besieged by soulless creatures known as Grimm. These creatures are drawn to feelings of negativity; such as envy, sadness, loneliness, and hatred; and will congregate towards the source of these emotions. Grimm only have the instinct to kill Humans and Faunus on sight." Philemon explained "However while humanity currently enjoys a time of peace due to the power of an element called Dust. A storm is coming for which I wish to help them prepare. However, due to circumstances, I am unable to interfere directly. An ordeal lies in their future. A battle for the very fate of Remnant which has been going on for centuries is about to reach a climax and I wish to aid them."

"If this war has been going on for so long then why now do you only want to help?" Yu asked suspiciously.

"This war could mean the end for humanity on Remnant however that is where you come in." Philemon continued "I have a friend who runs a school known as Beacon Academy; he's something of a wizard when it comes to teaching the children to become Hunters of the Grimm. Even if his hair is going grey he's still got a lot of fire and wisdom in him. I wish to send you to Remnant to become a teacher, more specifically I want you to help raise a generation of Hunters and Huntresses who will have the power of Persona, giving them a greater chance to fight back against the darkness."

"If it means I can save lives, I'll do it" Yu agreed readily. "But I don't know how to awaken their Persona's without having them face their shadows like we did."

"Well I can help with that" Philemon then withdrew a familiar looking crystal. The Orb of Truth that Yu had used to reveal Izanami no Okami's true form "I've given the orb a modification that will allow it to draw out the shadow of the person whom you chose to shine its light upon. However you must will it to shine the light first, that way there'll no accidents caused by curious students if you leave the orb lying around."

"Thank you," Yu said taking the orb and pocketing it. "But you didn't answer my question, why now?"

"Truthfully, I tried sending a Wild Card to have her Journey in Remnant before you, however, it is a bloody and harsh world and she perished before h could truly make a difference." Philemon finally answered with a sad sigh. "I figured that sending you who have reached the end of your Journey and have attained The World, you would stand a greater chance than she did."

"If these people are in trouble then I'll help, after all the worst thing that can happen is death right?" Yu joked slightly anxious.

"Thank you," Philemon handed Yu a deck of Tarot cards similar to his Persona's Arcana. "Take these, they can be used to detect whether someone has the potential for Persona or not. Your prospects need only to touch the cards and if one reacts, then they have a strong potential, this should help make your job easier."

Yu took the deck and examined the Arcana silently for a few seconds before pocketing the deck.

"A couple more things before you go take this so my friend will know who you are." Philemon handed Yu a business card with a blue butterfly on it. "And take this."

Philemon extended what Yu recognised as a Persona tarot card under the Judgement Arcana.

"This Persona is Zeus; he really wanted to see you again. You made quite the impression on him, which isn't easy for a mortal. Don't worry about not remembering him; I'm sure you'll understand in time."

Yu took the Arcana, as he did so it dissolved into a blue glow which flowed into him and he felt the Persona's presence settle within his soul.

"One more thing, don't worry about people thinking you're missing when you return you'll be back here in the same moment you left."

"Attention passengers this is your driver speaking, we have arrived at our destination," a familiar voice said through the PA.

"Igor?" Yu asked looking up at the speakers, during the pause Yu could practically hear the grin the on his face.

"We have now arrived at the Headmaster's office, in Beacon Academy on the world of Remnant please enjoy your stay and while you no longer require the services of the Velvet Room it will nevertheless be open to you."

Yu stepped out of the train doors and into the light he found himself in an office that resembled the inside of a giant clock! The desk, the chairs, a few pillars here were all transparent and revealed an intricate set of gears and metalwork all moving together perfect harmony. Looking behind him he saw the closing doors of an elevator.

"Ah" Yu's attention was on a silver-haired man wearing shaded spectacles and a dark-green scarf with a small, purple, cross-shaped emblem on it. He wore an unzipped black suit over a black-buttoned vest, with a green undershirt underneath. He was also wearing black shoes and long, dark-green trousers and was drinking from a mug of what Yu assumed to be coffee "You must be the one the old butterfly Philemon sent am I correct?"

" Yes, I'm Yu Narukami, are you the wizard?" Yu asked hesitantly holding out the card with a blue butterfly on it that Philemon had given him.

"That card proves it and as does you calling me 'The Wizard'." the man said "You see the movie The Wizard of Oz does not exist on Remnant and it is only because of Philemon that I have seen it, hence the codename Wizard. My name is Ozpin, Professor Ozpin. I am the headmaster here at Beacon Academy where the Hunters and Huntresses of the future are trained, and with your aid, the power of Persona will be of great aid to preserving this era of peace. I am thankful for your assistance Mr Narukami."

"I'm glad to help Professor Ozpin," Yu said taking Ozpin's hand and shaking it.

"Come with me, I'll introduce you to some of our staff." Ozpin said heading towards the elevator "Now it's still a few weeks before the school year begins so only a few are actually at the academy at the moment."

"No problem let's meet them," Yu said stepping into the elevator and standing next to Ozpin as the doors closed.

As the elevator began moving slowly downwards Ozpin handed Yu what appeared to be a history textbook.

"Here I assume Philemon told you the basics of our world and the Grimm, but I think it is wise for you to read up on some our recent history before we reach the staff room," Ozpin suggested as Yu opened the book and began reading up on an even simply referred to as The War and another conflict called The Faunus Rights Revolution. "Hopefully knowledge of our world and your own observations should ease any worries the staff might have about your age, well some of them anyway."

As Yu kept reading the book he couldn't help but wonder where Ozpin had gotten the book from in the first place. The boy was certain the headmaster hadn't been holding it before.

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When Yu and Ozpin arrived outside of what he presumed to be the staff room the Fool found his history text book being taken away by Ozpin who stowed it away somewhere Yu couldn't see.

"Alright they're in here, be ready," Ozpin said receiving a nod from Yu. "Also there is one final thing I forgot to mention, in order to anchor your presence here in this world, you will need to sign a contract between you and me. Without it you will begin drifting back to Earth. I will have it ready for you tomorrow."

Yu nodded in agreement and Ozpin waved a device called a scroll across what looked to be ID reader near the doors which parted allowing them to enter. When they went inside there were three people waiting for them.

The first was a bespectacled man wearing a dishevelled white shirt partially tucked into his dark-green trousers and its collar raised, a slack yellow tie, hung loosely around his neck and one his feet were a pair of mismatched brown and black shoes. He also wore round glasses that appeared to be opaque.

The next man also appeared to be slightly overweight, and was wearing a double-breasted burgundy suit with gold piping and buttons. The trousers he wore were tucked into olive coloured boots, similar in appearance to cavalry boots. He had grey hair and a grey moustache which gave Yu the impression that he was maybe in his early fifties.

The woman of the group had very light-blonde hair tied back in a bun with a curl hanging down the right side of her stern face. Her eyes were bright green and she wore thin rectangular glasses.

Her clothing consisted of a white long-sleeved suit that exposed part of her chest; it had puffy sleeves that tighten near the wrist before spreading back out near her hands. Her lower body had a black business skirt with buttons running in a vertical line up the front of it and lighter black-brown stockings. On her feet were a pair of black boots with brown heels, and wears a tattered cape that is purple inside and black on the outside, decorated by a row of diamond-shaped brown beads going horizontally across her cape. She had in her right hand what appeared to be a riding crop.

"Everyone I'm glad you're all here I'd like to introduce you to a new member of staff I mentioned," Ozpin announced.

"I'm Yu Narukami" Yu introduced himself politely bowing his head. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, young man, my name is Peter Port and I teach Grimm Studies here at Beacon." The portly moustached man introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you I am Doctor Oobleck and I teach History here." the green haired man was in front of Yu and shaking his hand in a blur of motion. He couldn't help but wonder how the man moved so fast.

"Glynda Goodwitch I am Beacon's combat instructor." Glynda introduced herself with her arms crossed and a stern look on her face.

' _Uh oh, hard ass alert'_ Pixie commented with a snicker.

"Headmaster, with respect how do we know he's qualified to teach here?" Professor Goodwitch asked eyeing Yu "He seems a bit young don't you think?"

"I can personally assure you that he has the knowledge and skill to be amongst our staff despite his youth." Ozpin reassured her "Doctor Oobleck why don't ask him something? I'm sure his answer will surprise you."

"Very well young man, what can you tell me about War on Remnant?" Doctor Oobleck asked quickly sipping his coffee.

"Well wars on Remnant while bloody don't have a tendency to last very long" Yu said pausing and taking a deep breath before continuing "Because war breeds suffering which in turn leads to Fear, Fear leads to anger, anger becomes to hate and hate becomes a beacon to the Grimm who are drawn to negative emotions. As such many battle tactics are meant to end conflicts quickly. The Grimm then swarm and can even become hordes in wartime."

Yu paused and took a breath before continuing.

"They swarm towards battlefields where anger and hate most dominant and slaughter everything in their path. Then they'll target undefended towns and cities whose soldiers are out fighting. This is why the kingdoms try their hardest to maintain a peace with each other, not really out of any fondness for each other but out of fear of the Grimm. It's a common misconception that Grimm are all just mindless monsters, when in reality as time goes on and they get older, they become smarter learning from their experiences with humans and even becoming capable of strategic moves that make them seem Sapient."

"An excellent and well thought out answer young man." Professor Port praised "You gave an answer covered both history and Grimm studies at the same time well done."

"Indeed you have my confidence as well." Doctor Oobleck said sipping his coffee again.

"But not mine" Professor Goodwitch stated bluntly with an unimpressed tone. "Knowing is one thing but being able to do is another entirely. I'd like to see his battle skills myself before I give my confidence in this decision."

' _She definitely needs to get laid._ ' Incubus jeered.

Yu wasn't angry, he wasn't even annoyed. Even he'd be sceptical at allowing someone his age being called in to teach future warriors at an academy as prestigious as Beacon apparently was.

"And you'll get to see his skill." Ozpin said, "I am so confident in his ability to fight that I will have him take the S-class hunter qualification exam."

Both Oobleck and Port gasped in shock and even Glynda looked surprised.

"Headmaster the S-class qualification exam is reserved for fourth-year students who have skill years beyond their peers." Professor Port objected loudly "Few even survive that exam! Never mind actually pass it. The last one to do so was 'your' team when you were a student! For Oum's sake Team STRQ was the best team we've had in twenty years and they barely survived to retreat when they attempted it!"

"And you're demanding he does it alone no less!" Doctor Oobleck yelled with alarm.

"Ozpin I didn't mean…"

"I accept your terms." Yu cut Professor Goodwitch off getting shocked looks from the three teachers and a small smirk from Ozpin. "What do I have to do for this exam?"

"Just follow me," Ozpin said walking out of the room with the three teachers and Yu in tow.

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Eventually, the five arrived at a cliff that overlooked place called the Emerald Forest. As its name suggested it was indeed a forest, that not only stretched as far from the cliffs as the eye could see but Yu assumed it was also infested with Grimm.

"Mr Narukami there is no shame in backing out and taking an easier combat test." Glynda pressed clearly trying to dissuade him. "Teams of highly talented hunters have died attempting this exam, doing it on your own is borderline suicide."

"I'll be fine" Yu stated confidently. "If there's one thing I've learnt it's that no matter where you are you're never alone."

"Take this scroll," Ozpin said handing Yu some sort of holographic tablet device "This will lead you a clearing in the forest where three Ursa Major and a King Taijitu await. Slay them a Giant Nevermore and then complete the further instructions I shall provide you and the exam is complete. But do be careful, this may seem straightforward but I assure you it is dangerous so do not hesitate or you will die."

' _This sounds far too easy, this old fool is hiding something_ ' Nidhogg grumbled.

Yu nodded and placed his duffle bag which he had been carrying with him, onto the ground before withdrawing the sword kept within. He then put the scroll the headmaster had given to him in his pocket and backed up a bit before taking a running leap off the cliff, plunging into the forest below.

"Ozpin are you sure that boy can handle this?" Glynda asked warily when Yu was out of earshot.

"I think that _man_ has earned my confidence" Ozpin replied taking a sip of some coffee which Doctor Oobleck had given him.

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After reaching the ground using his sword still in its sheath to snag branches in order to slow his fall, Yu took out the scroll and began following the directions it gave him to the letter. Eventually, he found the clearing that Professor Ozpin had mentioned and saw the Grimm. They had bony spines and a skull mask with red markings, but they also possessed many bony plates on their back and limbs. Judging by their bear-like appearance he assumed that those three were the Ursa Major he was supposed to kill. All three spotting him and snarled at him with an unnatural hatred.

A hissing drew Yu's attention and turned to see on his left was a giant serpent creature that had many fangs in its jaws, with a long, black forked tongue to boot. It had two halves, a black one and a white one, that appeared to be joined in the centre.

'That snake is probably the King Taijitu I was told about. It'll be trouble if joins in the fight but I think I can keep it occupied while I deal with the Ursa'. Yu thought to himself.

"Yamata no Orochi" Yu summoned the Arcana and crushed the card summoning the eight-headed serpent which let out its own battle cry.

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"What is that?" Doctor Oobleck asked with astonishment as he watched an eight-headed serpent appear out of a swirl of blue flames.

"Some sort of summoning Semblance perhaps?" Goodwitch suggested. "They are extremely rare but not impossible."

"His Aura has not been unlocked," Ozpin told them.

"Semblance is fuelled by Aura, so without it, he can't possibly be using semblance," Port said nonchalantly.

A couple of seconds ticked by when the three teachers suddenly processed what Ozpin had just told them.

"What?!" "Ozpin!" "Have you gone insane?!"

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The Ursa's and the King Taijitu all gave their own roars and got ready to fight. Yu drew Totsuka no Tsurugi and equipped Siegfried to borrow his skill with a sword.

"Go" Yu commanded and the eight-headed serpent lunged for the King Taijitu which tried to defend itself by biting at Orochi only to find both of its heads wrapped up in Orochi's grip. It desperately bit at Orochi to try and break free but the eight-headed serpent refused to release its grip and didn't budge.

Yu flinched a bit at the pain that was being transmitted from Orochi but was able to compose himself and ignore it, instead he focused on the three Ursa Major's which had decided now was a good time to strike. One particularly bold one was already above Yu with its claws outstretched hoping to kill him from above.

Yu bent over backwards allowing the Grimms claws to just miss him and causing the creature sail over him, as it did so he quickly unsheathed his sword and plunged it's the bear's neck and drew it down its body and between its legs, his sword came out of the bear sending it crashing into a tree behind him where it quickly turned to smoke as it died.

Enraged by what had happened another Ursa charged only to be met with a Garula from one of the heads of Orochi who was still wrestling with the King Taijitu. The Ursa was sent flying and crashed head first into a tree where it sat on it's behind rubbing its head. However, before it could recover it was promptly bashed on the head by six pineapple looking fruit in rapid succession, one after another knocking the Ursa unconscious. Yu knew they could not be pineapples no matter how much they looked like them, for one pineapples did not grow on trees and secondly they weren't blue.

Yu did not see the third and final Ursa until it was too late, by the time he spotted the creature it had already closed in on him. Giving out a victorious roar it clamped its jaws down on Yu's right shoulder caused a sharp pain to shoot through him.

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"It looks like that's it" Glynda sighed glaring at the headmaster. "He let his guard down and now he will lose his arm."

"Are you sure Glynda?" Ozpin asked sipping his coffee with a smirk.

"What are you saying?" Glynda asked, "The Ursa has him, _and_ _he has no aura!_ "

"Then why has the Ursa not simply torn his arm off yet?" Ozpin asked sipping from his mug again.

"He's right, it looks like the Ursa can't sink its teeth in for some reason." Port pointed out in disbelief.

Glynda looked at her scroll and sure enough, the Ursa was there clamped onto Yu's shoulder struggling to sink its teeth into his flesh.

"How on earth is that possible?" Glynda asked, "It should tear his arm off effortlessly."

"I believe that this is the power of Persona," Ozpin said with a knowing smirk that annoyed Glynda.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

"Sadly for you, the Persona I've equipped is called Siegfried and he can nullify physical attacks," Yu smirked before plunging a finger into the eyehole of the Grimms mask as hard as he could.

The Ursa howled in pain and stumbled back with both its paws covering its mask, Yu took the time to strike and slashed its exposed throat. The Grimm gurgled and before falling over as its body dissolved into black smoke signalling its death.

The remaining Ursa Major which until now had been unconscious was starting to get back to its feet and was rubbing its throbbing head, however before it could fully recover died instantly as a sword impaled it through the throat nailing it to the tree through the back of its head, and it too joined the other Ursa in death.

Yu retrieved his sword from the tree and turned to face Orochi which was still wrestling with the King Taijitu.

"Alright stop playing around and finish it off." Yu commanded, "We still have one more to take down and that final boss Ozpin talked about."

The eight-headed serpent gave him a disappointed look before complying and releasing the King Taijitu by tossing it into the air. All eight heads then let out a frosty breath, using mabufala to freeze the Grimm solid, when it fell towards them the eight-headed serpent smashed to pieces with a headbutt.

"Three Ursa Major's and a King Taijitu that just leaves…." Yu cover his eyes with his arm when the wind began to pick up.

When it died down a bit Yu saw that everything was cast into shadow, when he looked up he saw a gigantic black bird it has a mask-like, white bony structure overlaying the upper front of its head. It also has four glowing red eyes, two on each side of its head. It also had two clawed "fingers" extending forwards from the outermost wing joint, on each wing.

"The Nevermore" Yu finished before reaching out to Orochi "Change"

As the change began the Giant Nevermore screeched out a battle cry let hundreds of metallic spear like feathers fly at Yu. They kicked a large cloud of smoke when they impacted the ground.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

"Is he…."

Ozpin remained unworried and smirked.

"Just wait and see Glynda it's not over yet."

"It's flinching?" Oobleck pointed out with confusion.

Indeed the Nevermore appeared to spot something in the smoke and flew backwards a bit. As it did so a huge serpentine dragon emerged from the smoke staring down the Nevermore which appeared to have lost its confidence. The dragon had four claws and held an orb of a different colour in each, Red, blue, white and black presumably representing Suzaku, Seiryu, Byakko and Genbu respectively.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

"Kohryu" Yu said standing atop the dragons head.

The Nevermore decided to try its luck again and launched another feather volley at Kohryu. The golden dragon simply took the attack without flinching and let out a growl at the Nevermore which decided to try and cut its losses by attempting to fly away.

"Don't let it get away" Yu ordered. "Ziodyne!"

The golden dragon complied and flew after the Nevermore, Yu steadied himself by gripping onto one of the golden dragon's horns. It easily caught up the fleeing Grimm which tried flying faster when it realised it was being chased. Kohryu opened its mouth and let out a massive lightning bolt which consumed the Nevermore destroying it completely. Before impacting portion of the forest and obliterating it, leaving a large crater and more than a few burnt trees.

After the last Grimm on the list was killed Yu leapt off Kohryu's head and returned the dragon to the sea of souls.

"CAW" Yu pointed his sword at the source of the sound only to find a bird staring down at him from a tree branch.

' _Just a Raven_ ' Flauros snorted derisively. ' _Irritating bird._ '

' _A sign of bad luck._ ' Apollo commented wistfully.

' _You would know_ ' Artemis snarked at her brother.

Yu ignored the squabble that began between siblings and put his sword back in its sheath as the bird was no threat to him. Then ground shuddered forcing him to steady himself in order to keep his balance.

' _It appears that in our fighting, we have disturbed something._ ' Scathach the teacher of Cu Chulainn and the one who bestowed him with Gae Bolg, commented with interest.

Yu could feel it, the atmosphere in the forest had changed. If he had to describe it, well it was like the earth beneath him was angry while the trees and plants seemed to be holding their breath in anticipation.

"Congratulations on completing the warm-up, now the real test begins." Ozpin's voice said from the scroll.

Suddenly Yu jumped back as the earth before he exploded. The Fool began rapidly back peddling, dodging falling boulders as he did so. Eventually, he could see the forest…..standing up?

"What you looking at now is a very old, very powerful and very experienced creature of Grimm." Ozpin continued informing him.

' _Does this bastard sound cheerful or is just me?_ ' Belial asked grumpily.

' _I will break his nose._ ' Ahriman also was known as Angra Mainyu in Zoroastrian mythology growled. ' _Let's see him be cheerful then._ '

When the dust settled down and Yu could truly see again, he saw just how massive the Grimm truly was, its main body was mostly earth but there were plants and rocks mixed in as well it, its legs and arms, for example, were solid stone, but its hands had to be the main attraction. Each finger was a tree, a whole tree which connected with four others to form a large cobble of roots which made up the palm connecting each finger and thumb. Each of the rocky limbs had red lines like cracks across them.

"That is a species of Geist known as a Silva Gigas which means…"

' _Forest Giant_ ' Saturnus finished impatiently although Ozpin could not hear him.

"Giests normally don't become this big and prefer sneak attacks, however, this one has had time to become proficient in killing huntsman, he is known as the King of the Emerald Forest." Ozpin continued unable to hear Saturnus interruption. "To pass you must dethrone him, in a word, kill it."

Yu suddenly sort of understand what Belial meant by Ozpin sounding cheerful. The Sea of Souls was roiling, Dragons and Heroes were demanding to be given a shot at it, while gods and demons argued and boasted about which of them could annihilate it in a single blow.

In the end, he had already chosen the one perfect for the job, a Persona who while not able to destroy it in one blow, would also not destroy most of the forest while doing so, which Ozpin would most likely not appreciate.

' _It would serve him right._ ' Pazuzu commented.

"Persona." Yu cried out crushing the Arcana in his hand, creating a massive swirl of blue flames around him which leapt into the air as the Persona began to manifest.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

"There he is, the King of the Forest." Doctor Oobleck said with awe.

"Indeed, I haven't seen him since STRQ tried to take him on," Port recalled staring at the giant giest with narrowed eyes.

"We've lost many foolish, yet promising teams of huntsman and huntresses to him." Glynda sighed still giving a sideways glare to Ozpin who was casually sipping his coffee.

"Here it comes," Ozpin stated.

Then a large blue flame erupted from beneath the treeline, expanding upwards and outwards. Finally, the flames vanished revealed huge white humanoid figure with strange tribal markings over its body that was just a head, larger than the gigas itself wielding a club in its hand.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

The King roared angrily at the challenger who did not respond with sound but with action, it raised its club high, the Grimm responded by quickly shielding its head where its Grimm mask was, with its arms.

This didn't stop the Persona or Yu who stood on the left shoulder of the giant, as it brought the club down, letting out a loud boom as it impacted. The King looked bewildered as suddenly its right arm was in three pieces on the forest floor.

Yu couldn't help the smirk which crossed his face. Albion had been the right choice for this. Albion was a mythical giant who was a son of the Sea god Poseidon and his wife Amphitrite who apparently founded Albion the country which would become Britain until he was slain by the hero Heracles during his tenth labour, his death caused him to split into the four Zoas.

The bewilderment of the King didn't last long however as he knelt, Yu could see vines wriggling to life around his shoulder where its arm was now gone. Then quickly they stretched down towards the shattered arm and grasped onto the pieces and pulled them back into the place. However only the shoulder piece was actually re-attached, the remaining pieces simply floated as if they were still attached to each other despite the obvious gap between pieces. The fist clenched a couple of times before the Gigas threw it at Albion. Literally, now that the appendage was not constrained by the rocky arm it was able to go much further away from the Grimm's main body.

The fist impacted Albions face causing the giant to stagger back a few steps. Yu almost fell but was able to keep his balance. Albion let out an angry growl, furious at having been struck like that and so began taking more steps backwards, creating more and more distance between its adversary and himself. Eventually, the Grimm looked quite small, and Yu clutched tightly to Albion as the giant began sprinting at the Silva Gigas a fist raised ready to smash its opponent to pieces.

The Grimm, however, saw this and was not idle, it knew it needed to change tactics and so with its right fist smashed the rocky left arm to bits causing the fist and bits of the arm to float just like the right. It's raised its now free hands into the air, putting them in full view of the sun and began rubbing them vigorously together. It did not take long before both wooden fists had ignited, and by the time Albion almost there, they were now completely wreathed in flames.

' _Its fists are on fire!_ ' Rakshasa yelled though he needn't have Yu could see that despite how fast Albion was going.

' _I believe its even taking a defensive stance._ ' Hanuman observed with interest in his tone.

When Albion was finally within striking distance the Silva Gigas threw one fist forwards, his fist met Albion's and there was loud kaboom. Yu felt himself flying through the air only to stop as he was caught in the hand of Albion who had flown backwards and landed on his back, dropping his club.

Albion began to stand up again only to be pinned down as the Gigas jumped and pinned him to ground. One flaming hand was on Albion's chest and the was began punching his face repeatedly, clearly hoping that either Albion's face would cave or burn off. Sadly for the Grimm however, Albion was immune to the four elements, due to the nature of the Zoa which comprised him.

So the son of the Earthshaker, unable to open his hand to retaliate with a punch of his own and risk Yu, opened his mouth just as the next punch came and bit down hard on the flaming fist, causing it become stuck. With the Gigas caught off guard and trying to free its hand Albion with all his might headbutted the Grimm in its face causing to fly off him and also screech in pain.

The Persona now on its feet again spat out the hand which he had chewed up, the flames having been put out from being in the giants mouth. It opened the hand Yu had been standing in allowing him to see again. The King of the Emerald Forest meanwhile was screeching and flailing about in pain with its remaining hand covering its face.

Yu realised what it meant and commanded the Persona.

"Finish it!"

Albion needed no further motivation and charged again. The Silva Gigas through its pain saw what was coming and desperately tried to defend itself. It threw a punch at Albion, however, the giant moved swiftly allowing the fist to simply go by him and then punched the Gigas squarely in the face, causing it to crumble to pieces.

The rest of the Gigas suddenly froze for a few seconds before falling to the ground lifelessly. The crack-like red lines vanishing from it. However, Yu saw something in the dust, a black figure that has bone-like spikes on its back and ribs on its upper body, with long, skeleton-like forearms and sharp fingernails and a face mask with a single red eye floating there. He thought fast and decided to use Heat Riser one of Adachi's favourite skills, to enhance his abilities and quickly leapt from Albion's hand, jumping across the few rocks still in the air.

The Geist saw him coming and made to flee, but it was too late as Totsuka-no-Surugi was driven through its face mask. It flailed and screeched in pain which only made things worse as the blade fatally sliced its mask in half, it let out a death screech before vanishing into motes of black smoke.

It was then that gravity decided to remind Yu of its existence, he began falling from the air but was caught by Albion. Who began stomping back to the cliffs where the staff awaited.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

"Incredible!" Port cried jovially. "Simply magnificent."

"To think, a man the age of a first-year slew the King of the Emerald Forest and passed the S-class exam," Oobleck said in awe.

"Indeed, he's the youngest to ever take the exam and survive never mind pass." Glynda breathed with shock at what she had just witnessed.

"I trust he has your confidence now Glynda," Ozpin asked with a smug smirk.

"Y-yes, quite," Glynda said composing herself as Albion came to halt and lowered his hand, allowing Yu to step off onto the cliff before the staff members before returning to the Sea of Souls.

"So did I pass?" Yu asked

"With flying colours," Ozpin said, "I trust this satisfies any reservations the rest of you may have had?"

"Indeed it does an excellent show" Professor Port exclaimed

"You are one of the few who have survived that exam, and one of even fewer who passed it." Glynda stated "Congratulations Professor."

"Indeed, welcome to Beacons staff," Doctor Oobleck said quickly "I can hardly wait to see how you do here at Beacon."

"That's not all, you see while I'm going to assign him to aid certain classes, he will also be my protégé, my successor as headmaster of Beacon Academy," Ozpin announced with a small smirk.

' _Wait? What?!_ ' Belial yelled surprised.

"You see, the position of headmaster of a huntsman academy comes with a certain amount of political power and influence over the next generation of huntsman and huntresses." Ozpin began explaining. "It's the reason for the difficulty of the exam, it's not just a way to show who's the best, but also is a safeguard to make sure that not just anyone may become the headmaster of an academy, to prevent the abuse of the position. In other preparatory academies and civilian schools, the deputy would typically take up the mantle of headmaster however due to the aforementioned safeguard, the political and influential powers of the position remain out of reach, just in case."

Yu wasn't sure what to say. His head began to ache, and the world was spinning. He had overexerted himself and so without a word he passed out.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

As he entered the room Yu set down his duffel bag on the floor. It was spacious but plain, with a desk, a chair, an empty bookshelf and TV opposite the bed which was in the corner of the room and a large window allowing the dying sunlight to flood into the room, with a pair of thick curtains either side.

"This place feels like home, almost like I'd never left," Yu commented wistfully indeed, the similarities to the layout of his room back in the Dojima household were eerie, it only lacked a sofa and a standing shelf unit to look the same. Abliet with a bed instead of a futon and it was much larger.

" _It may look that way,_ " Izanagi commented appearing in a transparent form with no real substance as he sat on the bed looking out of the window.

"But things have changed," Yu said as he took a seat next to the Persona, joining him in watching the sun go down. he felt rather nervous, was he ready to be a teacher? He'd only just finished his journey by defeating Izanami.

" _Remember no matter how this place looks, we are in a different world, and things are changing especially in the Sea of Souls,_ " Izanagi stated causing Yu to pay more attention. " _Ever since that man unlocked our Aura, the Sea has started to change with Potential bubbling to the surface and forming new Persona's on its own, make no mistake ever since you attained The World this has been happening, but unlocking our Aura has expedited the process greatly._ "

"Then Igor was right, after all, I don't need the services of the Velvet Room anymore."

" _Indeed, I'm sure you can sense them, forming and those that have formed have already formed. Albion was one of them._ "

Summoning Albion had caught Yu off guard too. He hadn't remembered fusing the silent giant within the Velvet Room. But when he'd been forced to fight the King of the Forest, he knew he needed a Persona to fight it and Albion had answered the call and thanks to him he passed and Ozpin had said he would give him his Hunter License tomorrow along with making the necessary arrangements to have him employed at Beacon which of course required him to sign a contract.

The Cover story for the Council and public was that Yu had been chosen to be Ozpin's successor as Headmaster and now he was to start his training to take over should anything happen to Ozpin. His main purpose, of course, was to teach a small class to manifest and use their Persona's.

Teaching, Yu would be lying if he told anyone he wasn't nervous. The closest experience he had to teaching experience was when he tutored Shu. But this was a whole other ball game. His actions and words with these students would shape the future of a world. What if he said the wrong thing? What if one of them wound up dead or abused their power?

Teaching seemed hard, he wasn't sure if he could do this.

" _You worry too much._ " A cocky voice remarked. The voice belonged to a new persona which appeared leaning against the wall next to the desk, he had a young roguishly handsome face with blonde hair that almost looked like it was green his eyes were that of a Raptor constantly in search of prey. This was Achilles one of the greatest heroes of the Trojan war famed for his speed, his rage and most of all his invulnerability which came from his mother washing him in the River Styx.

Save for his heel, his famous weak point which was shot by Paris who had poisoned an arrow and had his bow guided by Apollo. Hence the modern term, 'Achilles heel'. "Teaching is easy, all you have to do is get the brats to pay attention and do a few laps when they piss you off and you'll be fine."

" _That is completely inaccurate._ " Another Persona said with a sigh, appearing next to Achilles and giving him a smack on the head.

This one was a calm-looking middle-aged man with long brown hair, wearing a somewhat archaic style of dress, Yu took a moment to notice a tuft of hair like a horses tail coming out from just above his rear. This was Chiron, the trainer of Heroes and the one depicted in the constellation of Sagittarius.

" _I made you run laps because in your early days you threw tantrums and punched trees._ " Chiron reprimanded him. " _Teaching when you first start out is not easy. Especially when your students are demi-gods. In your case, you are dealing with peers who have been training to slay monsters for years. While your journey may have given you more battle experience make no mistake, they have more skill with their weapons than you, and they were trained while you had to learn on the fly with no teachers. My advice in your own class is to stick to your strengths and work on your weakness with either Ozpin or Glynda in private._ "

Achilles scoffed and returned to the Sea of Souls, Chiron following him.

" _Speaking of Ozpin, I wouldn't put all your faith the old man._ " A woman wearing a black cloak materialized near the window. " _He reminds me far too much of Merlin, always knowing more but only telling what he thinks you need to know._ "

She was Morgan le Fay, the sister of King Arthur. She was either a fairy or a human, but either way, she was a sorceress allegedly taught magic by Merlin. She was a constant antagonist to Arthur and Camelot, eventually, she birthed a son named Mordred by enchanting Arthur. Mordred rebelled under Morgan's guidance and ended up destroying the kingdom.

" _Teaching you anything was the greatest mistake I ever made, but I got you back in the end._ " A rather youthful looking man appeared opposite Morgan. " _I stripped you of your fairyhood and you died a bitter old woman._ "

" _Yet I still destroyed the once and future king, and the future you worked so hard to protect._ "

" _Hmph, Arthur will be back and that future will come to pass, you, on the other hand, will remain thankfully dead._ "

" _It's a wonder you lived as long as you did, you hit on anything female. I distinctly remember during one our lessons you tried it with Vivian, the lady of the lake and she ended up nearly drowning you._ "

They were getting off track, they'd clearly come for a reason other than to argue.

" _Yes, well as much as I hate to agree with her, Ozpin is hiding something, there is magic below us,_ " Merlin stated becoming serious.

So there was something below the school, somewhere underground.

" _Indeed, but the magic itself is not what's being hidden, rather the magic is hiding something,_ " Morgan told him in a thoughtful manner. " _I'd liken it to a doorway or magically sealed treasure chest._ "

" _Ozpin is far more than he seems._ " Merlin stated seriously " _While he's not hostile to us, he's definitely got something big to hide._ "

" _Indeed, I know his type, the know-more-than-everyone and play-them-like-chess-pieces type. You'd know all about that, wouldn't you Merlin?_ " Though it was spoken as a question, it was clearly an accusation meant to prod at the Wizard.

Merlin didn't respond, instead returning to the Sea of Souls. Yu noted that he hadn't denied the accusation, Morgan smirked victoriously clearly having gotten the rise she had been looking for.

" _I advise you to be wary, this is more than just a school, and that man is more than just a headmaster,_ " Morgan told him before returning to the Sea of Souls, most likely to chase Merlin and prod at him more.

Before Yu knew it the sun had finally set. he stood up and placed the scroll he'd been given down onto the desk before doing his night-time routine and climbing into bed.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

In the throne room of her domain, Salem's eyes widened as she felt a wave of a power, of a kind she had not felt for decades. Then she chuckled to herself, her eyes fell to the table where a black butterfly waited patiently.

"So, the blue one has finally decided to try again has he?" She smirked resting her head on her hand.

" **He has been waiting for this time to come, he does not accept defeat easily.** " the black butterfly responded with amusement. " **Regardless, this one is not a rookie his last attempt, this one is experienced and very powerful. Underestimate him at your own peril.** "

"So my current subordinates will not suffice? Do you perhaps have a solution?"

" **I can give you the ability to contact the one who opposed him, however persuading him to contract with you, like Ozpin has with the boy is going to be your problem.** " The black butterfly responded " **There are still rules after all. My interference has its limits these days.** "

"You are giving me the one who he defeated?" Salem asked with disappointment.

" **I think you will find his semblance will more than make up for it.** " The butterfly responded " **Besides there is a better prospect however that one is not ready yet. So this one must suffice for now. He will do for your early plans at least.** "

"Very well, what is the name?"

" **Tohru Adachi, he is currently in prison for the murders that Yu Narukami and his friends exposed were his doing. but it will not be easy, the Wild Card formed a bond with even him.** "

"I could do with a challenge, tempting humans to my side has become rather easy in the last few centuries." Salem chuckled "This time, I would like to experiment with Wild Card power. With it at my disposal I will be able to burn both Ozpin and everything he has cultivated to the ashes."

" **With that, I wish you luck.** " The Black Butterfly chuckled before taking off and beginning to fly away.

' **Have you grown arrogant old friend? I have won on Remnant before, I have many more pieces to here play than you, all in more powerful positions, this is not earth, and it is not game board that I will concede so easily, by the time I am done I will either win, or your victory will taste as bitter to you as defeat, this I promise you.** '


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 or RWBY they are the property of their respective owners, any resemblance to any other Persona 4 or RWBY fan fiction is coincidental and plagiarism is not intended. No flames please constructive criticism only.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

After waking up from his slumber and getting dressed, Yu headed straight to the headmasters office where Ozpin awaited. The man stood in the centre of the room taking a sip from his mug before setting it down on his desk. He'd gotten a message from the headmaster on his way here. The Council had watched the footage of his S-class exam, including his slaying of the King of the Emerald Forest.

Ozpin had told him in the message that the Council will no doubt wish to speak to him. The cover for his Persona's would be that they are a very rare summoning type Semblance. Very distinct from the Schnee family semblance which allowed them to summon defeated foes via their Glyphs. His persona's were explained as being far more autonomous and powerful than ordinary summons but guzzled aura in return. It wasn't entirely a lie. Summoning too many Personae or leaving one summoned for too long would put a drain on his mental energy, however Margaret had said that if he exercised it, then like a muscle his ability to sustain them would grow. Which he done multiple times throughout his journey through the TV World.

"Ah Mr Narukami, I'm glad you've made it on time." The headmaster greeted standing next to a large holographic screen with three silhouetted figures on it two males and one female. "The Valesian Council has seen the footage of your exam and wishes to speak with you."

"Greetings young man, We've seen the footage of the battle." A male Councillor said, though Yu could not tell which one.

"Indeed, the King of the Emerald Forest was a menace, but you slaying him will be good news for the public they will be especially pleased to know that our kingdom has produced such a prodigy." The other man stated sounding pleased.

Ah yes, part of the cover story was that Inaba had been nomadic village who moved wandered around the Vale region of Sanus, they'd, unfortunately, wandered into recently expanded Grimm territory and had been wiped out.

"True, the more positivity before the Vytal Festival, the better." The woman agreed. "You have our deepest sympathies about the fate of your village and we do hope you find some survivors."

"Thank you Councillor, I'm sure I'll find someone, it's what I was doing before Ozpin found me, wandering from place to place just trying to find anyone." Yu lied smoothly.

"Polite, you could learn something from him Ozpin." The first man jabbed, though the headmaster did not rise to the bait. "I do have some concerns however, he's young, the same age as the incoming first years, is he truly ready to become the Headmaster of Beacon it's a large responsibility after all."

There was a moment of silence as Ozpin took a sip from his mug. "You make a good point Councillor, Beacon is known as the greatest Huntsman academy in the world for good reason, if you believe it to be too much for your liking I'm sure Leo would be delighted to have a successor he is getting on his years after all."

' _Oh ho, that got their attention._ ' Decarbia chuckled.

Indeed, all three Councillors seemed to straighten up as if ice had gone down their spines.

"N-no no I was merely voicing my concern about him being forced to deal with your workload all at once." The first counsellor said nervously, which might have something to do with the glares the other two were no doubt giving him if the way their heads were turned to look at him was any indication.

"Worry not councillor, I have a plan to ease him steadily into the role, first as a teacher of a small class mostly focusing on semblances." Ozpin told him, hiding a smirk behind his mug.

"Allow me to be blunt," The woman cleared her throat and said in a serious tone. "You may not be headmaster, know that even though we have not shared the footage with the other kingdoms yet, there is no doubt that they have likely already seen or will see it soon, in which case you are likely to be swarmed with certain individuals hoping to toady up to you or try to find out your secrets. The position of Headmaster of Beacon possesses great power and influence in the world after all and there are advantages to cosying up to the next headmaster. So I do hope you are good maintaining appearances because not all of attempts will be friendly or subtle."

"Ozpin we'll leave the rest to you, good luck young man we look forward to working with you in the future." The screen then vanished, ending the video call.

"Well, that went better than I expected," Ozpin commented before pulling out a sheet of paper which was a very familiar shade of blue.

" _Ok seriously that desk doesn't have any drawers, so where did he get that?_ " Cu Chulainn asked with annoyance.

"Just sign here," Ozpin instructed him offering a pen.

Yu took the pen and read over the paper. The gist of it was that he would, agree to teach a select group of students to use Persona's to the best of his abilities, that he would protect the school and students to the best of his abilities in an emergency and that he would agree to keep any secrets he was told to himself.

The devils and demons amongst his personas saw no secret clauses or loopholes or malicious tricks and so he signed the dotted line. When he finished doing so the paper gave off a bright blue glow. It was then that Yu felt secure, as though he was part of Remnant and no longer in danger of being dragged away, it was a feeling he'd had since he'd woken up, one of uneasiness like he was standing on a boat in choppy seas.

"Excellent." The headmaster said picked up the paper before stowing it away and typing something into a Scroll, after a moment Yu heard his own scroll beep in response. "There I've set you with a bank and a decent amount of lien, I think you should probably go into Vale and buy yourself some clothes and perhaps some furnishing, that bedroom is rather sparse after all. Oh, and the Scroll has a map function so don't worry about getting lost."

Yu nodded and then entered the Elevator and pressed a button to go to the ground floor.

" _I still don't trust that man._ " Morgan le Fay commented as the doors closed.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

After taking a bullhead from Beacon to Vale, Yu currently found himself wandering around Vale on a hot day. The new students were due to arrive tomorrow and initiation the day after, as such the boy now teacher found that he was curious about this worlds culture, delicacies, art and other such things.

But first, he needed some new clothes, as such he sought out a store, after asking around he found a that a specific store which catered to hunters. These kinds of stores were needed because civilian clothes didn't really serve hunters well in their line of work and thus they needed clothes with durable fabrics.

The name of the store was Avant Garde. When he entered he was surprised to see that mostly like a normal clothing store, with shirts, trousers, jackets of different styles and colours all on racks and shelves. It was also almost devoid of people save for a girl around his age

She had fair skin, short dark-brown hair, covered with a brown coloured beret and sunglasses over her eyes. Her hair consisted of wavy locks on one side of her face, dyed with a gradient that starts in dark brown and transitions to caramel. Her clothes consist of a long, cocoa-coloured shirt with a dark brown waist cincher. Her long, dark brown trousers had ribbons on the left side and a brown belt with bullets. Above it, she wore another cocoa-coloured belt of bullets with a gold crosshair buckle with what seemed to be a drape of black skirt hangs on her right side. On her feet were a pair of dark brown, high-heeled leather boots with buckles. The look was completed by a black shoulder bag with gold studs, which was held by a bandolier strap.

Before he could say anything she turned to face him and looked him up an down examining him.

"What is that you're wearing?" She asked with disgust.

"It's my previous school uniform, I came here to get some proper huntsman class clothing."

"Starting at Beacon are we?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, my last school was pretty strict about uniforms and were pretty cheap so civilian clothing only, it builds character apparently."

"Pfft, well your old school clearly had no taste, that uniform is so bland." She scoffed shaking her head. "Oh the names Coco, by the way, Coco Adel."

"I'm Yu Narukami, it's a pleasure." Yu returned her introduction and shook her hand.

' _Strong grip._ ' Oni commented.

"Well, Yu Narukami it's your lucky day, how much do you have?"

"My budget is about five thousand Lien for clothing," Yu replied.

It sounded like a lot because it was, Hunters were paid well for their profession and had to have large budgets because things like weapons and clothing to fight Grimm in weren't cheap to make hence why Ozpin had given him a very generous advance on his salary.

"Five thousand, ok I can work with that." Coco hummed and began wandering around the store. "Any preferences?" She called from behind a clothing rack as she began shuffling through various items of clothing.

"Something practical yet tells people that I'm serious and mean business."

"You do seem to be the stoic type," Coco said before peaking her head out to look at him again "Let me guess, grey's your favourite colour?"

"How'd you know?" Yu asked causing her to smirk and pull her head back.

"Lucky guess." After a few seconds, the shuffling stopped and Yu felt himself being forcefully moved towards a changing room. Before he knew what was happening Coco had shoved him into a changing room and pushed some clothes into his arms. "Here put these on." With that, she shut the curtain leaving a slightly bewildered Yu alone.

' _Something tells me she prefers being on top._ ' Incubus commented lewdly, some Persona's had a one track mind.

Looking down at the clothes Yu eventually shrugged began to change into this new set she had picked out for him. As he did so he heard a set of footsteps grow louder, judging by how gentle they seemed to be it was clearly a woman.

"Hey Coco, new customer?" A female voice asked.

"Hey Noire, yup newbie going to Beacon this year, he needed some help, so I did your job for you," Coco replied in a tone that Yu could just hear her grin.

"What discount do you want this time?" Noire asked with a long-suffering sigh.

"Just twenty percent will do fine for my services."

"Oh, only twenty? whatever would I do without the great Coco Adel and her breath-taking knowledge of fashion," Noire asked sarcastically.

"Probably fall apart at the seams."

"Oh ho ho, a clothing pun how droll," Noire said, her voice suggesting she was rolling her eyes.

"I thought it was," Coco replied unrepentantly.

"You would, having a clothing store where your brain should be." Noire quipped

"Oh someone's snarky today."

Before Noire could reply Yu opened the curtain and stepped out of the changing room, having finished changing. Now he was wearing a dark grey collar shirt with black tie, a black heavy trench coat with a yellow trim, black formal trousers, and black leather boots.

"Hmmm, interesting choice, not very flashy like most his age these days," Noire commented looking him up and down. "What were you going for?"

"Practical yet serious" Coco answered for him.

Noire hummed to herself and nodded for a few seconds before she abruptly smacked Coco upside the head.

"Ow, what was that for?" Coco complained rubbing her head.

"Your discount is only ten percent now," Noire stated with annoyance.

"What why?"

"You idiot, the trousers, they're too serious, plus they belong with a full-on suit, AND they clash with the boots!" Noire yelled with irritation.

"He said he wanted something serious and meant business."

"Yeah, but not too serious that he's unapproachable right?"

"Uh…yeah," Yu confirmed slightly taken aback by her sudden anger.

"Ok, I'll fix this, first what's your budget?"

"Five thousand."

"Can you go ten?" Noire asked seriously. "I have a special offer for you if you can."

' _Well, the clothing is going to be important in this line of work._ ' Seigfried commented.

' _Yeah, it's essentially the armour you're gonna be wearing don't wanna be stingy about it._ ' Cu Chulainn agreed.

"Sure, I can go ten thousand," Yu told her agreeing with the two Personas.

"Good, one moment." Noire then zoomed off through a door. She returned a few moments later with another pair of trousers and a collared shirt which was a similar shade of grey to the one he was already wearing but it seemed to be made of a different material. "Here change into these."

Yu walked back into the changing room, he looked at the shirt appraisingly for a moment before changing into the new shirt and trousers. When he walked out Coco's sunglasses briefly slipped down her nose before she quickly corrected them.

"Hey is that-"

"Yup, that shirt is Arachne silk," Noire said proudly with a smile.

Arachne, a legendary weaver who had challenged Athena to a contest of weaving, the outcome of the contest tends to vary but in the end, Athena tore to shreds Arachne's tapestry which depicted a harsh critique of the gods and turned her into the first spider after she committed suicide.

But how did the name become known on Remnant?

"An Arachne is a spider Grimm about the size of a dog," Coco explained breaking him out of his musing. "They're fast but their webs are stronger than steel and really valuable because they can be made into really durable clothing."

"Yeah, but the problem is actually harvesting it." Noire continued "Arachne's are defensive of their webs, plus most people try for Alpha Arachne web's which are even more valuable, with Ancient Arachne's webbing being the most valuable."

"You forgot primal Arachne's" Coco pointed out.

"I don't believe in myths Coco" Noire scoffed. "Besides even if one exists no huntsman would ever be able to get its webs, most idiots who hear about the value of the webs die trying to get Ancient or Alpha Arachne webs. Because its just normal Arachne silk, it's one thousand Lein per shirt, with Seven, one for each day that comes to seven thousand, but because I'm in a good mood I'll give the seven pairs of the other stuff for the remaining three thousand."

"Alright sure." Frankly Yu thought he was getting a good deal, even before Coco had pushed him towards the changing rooms he'd grimaced when he'd seen the price of some things for sale, he knew why they were so expensive, hunter clothing had to be more practical and durable than civilian clothing, add into the mix the fact that more than a few hunters and huntresses wanted to look stylish too and the price rose even further.

So after paying Yu changed back into his regular clothes, Noire promised to have his purchases delivered to Beacon where they would be waiting for him. Coco was staying behind to keep looking for clothes so Yu left, he had more to do.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Eventually after a few hours spent buying a bookshelf and some other things Yu found himself at an Ice Cream parlour named 'Vale Ice cream' which seemed to be a rather bland name in Yu's opinion but he was hot and decided to walk in. The store had a surprisingly sparse amount of people in it but Yu remembered that it was one in the afternoon on a weekday.

"Look I'm sorry, but no lien means no ice cream," the clerk said apologetically.

Yu raised his eyebrow when he saw the girl that the clerk was talking too, who was pouting but saying nothing. Instead, she pointed insistently at a particular ice cream that he couldn't see. But what stood out most about the girl more was her appearance.

The girl had three different hair colours, half her hair was pink and half was brown, with white streaks in the pink half. She was wearing a white jacket with a pink interior, brown trousers, and grey high heeled boots. Under her jacket was a black corset that was curved in the middle of the bottom, exposing her hips. She was also wearing a multitude of necklaces, which hung haphazardly around her neck.

Yu sighed, he wanted Ice Cream and saw no reason not to do something nice and so strode up to the counter.

"Hey, I'll some chocolate Ice Cream and I'll buy hers too," Yu said

"Ok one Chocolate and one large Neapolitan coming up" the clerk shrugged.

Yu felt a tug on his sleeve after he paid and looked at the girl who seemed to be smiling gratefully at him. She still didn't say anything, Yu got the feeling there was a personal reason for this and decided to just leave it be.

"So since I'm paying why don't eat together?" Yu offered to which the girl nodded.

After taking a seat at an empty table in the shade away from the sun Yu watched looked at the girl who apparently liked her ice cream. If the way her face seemed to brighten when her ice cream was brought to their table was any indicator. She put her umbrella down and leaned it on the wall nearby.

"So I'm Yu Narukami," Yu said introducing himself "What's your name?"

The girl didn't speak but rather gestured to her ice cream with her spoon, it didn't take Yu long to catch on.

"Your name is Neopolitan?" Yu asked for confirmation which he received in the form of a nod.

Yu was about to begin eating his own ice cream when he felt Loki stop him.

'Hold on, it's an illusion' Loki interjected _'That girl's trying to pull a fast one on you. She put an Illusion on your Ice Cream so it looks like your ice cream is in a different place than it actually is, it's probably her semblance._ '

'Well, why don't we give her a little payback.' Yu thought to the trickster 'Can you cast an illusion over her illusion?'

' _Please_ … _remember who you're talking too_ ' Loki chuckled casting the illusion.

Neo silently chuckled to herself as she kept eating her ice cream. Yu would be in for a surprise when tried to eat his ice cream only to find thin air, at least that was what she thought until Yu's spoon went into the illusory Ice Cream which did not shatter but instead allowed a chunk of chocolate ice cream to be removed and entered Yu's mouth without a problem. Neo felt her jaw drop and dropped the Illusion and sure enough the real ice cream was no longer concealed by her illusion and yet Yu was still somehow eating into the Illusory Ice Cream that she had conjured up using her semblance.

Yu contained a smirk as he heard a number of his Persona's laughing at the expression on Neo's face as he 'ate' the illusory ice cream. Using Loki's power's as a trickster it was pretty simple to cast an illusion over an illusion thus making it look like he was eating a non-existent Ice cream.

"If you keep your mouth open like that you're going to catch flies" Yu chuckled causing Neo to go snap her mouth shut.

Luckily for Yu, more than a few of his Persona's could read face and body language, not that he needed that skill to know confusion when he saw it.

"You're wondering how I did it," Yu asked the girl who nodded in confirmation.

"Well, how I did it is..."

Neo leant to hear his answer.

"A secret" Neo promptly face faulted and almost smacked her head into the table doing so causing the short girl to give Yu a glare when he chuckled at her reaction.

"I'm kidding, it's a trick I learned from a master trickster" It wasn't a lie Loki was very skilled with illusions "He's very good at spotting Illusions and we spent a lot of time together so I learned some things from him."

Again Yu avoided lying; he simply bent the truth a bit. With that their 'conversation' continued and Yu learnt a bit more about Neo.

"So are you a huntress?" Yu asked changing the subject.

Neo wiggled her hand as if to say sort of but not quite.

"Are you a Freelancer?" Yu guessed again.

Neo nodded in response, so she was a Freelancer. Yu heard that they were generally independent Hunters usually dropouts, who worked alone for cash and only took official missions when they had too. Otherwise, they hired themselves out to groups or people who could afford their services

" _She lies._ " The voice was calm, stern and yet analytical, it was that of the first person to hold the title of _Hassan-i-Sabbah'_ , the founder of the Hashashin from where the word Assassin in English originated. He was considered to be both the first "Old Man." Even so, his actual identity was unknown. He was an Assassin without peer, to call him the King of Assassins would not be unmerited. " _The way she moves, the look of her eyes, she is trained as an Assassin._ "

That put Yu on edge, sitting with an Assassin was unnerving, even with the Old Man, in his mind ready to protect him.

" _Do not worry, I doubt you are her target. She's far too relaxed, she's probably just having time off._ " Hassan stated which assuaged his worries somewhat causing him to relax once more, albeit keeping a close eye on her.

"That must be tough," Yu said getting a raised eyebrow from Neo "If you'd like to just talk and get things off your chest I can if nothing else I'm a great listener."

Neo's smile got wider and she nodded in acceptance. After their ice cream was finished both of them stood up and began to leave. As they got outside Yu felt another tug at his sleeve and was handed a napkin with a number and a message something written on it. Yu read the message as Neo walked away and quickly vanished out of sight.

 _'Thanks for the Ice Cream here's my Scroll number if you want to hang out again -Neo_ '

Yu chuckled and put the napkin safely away in his pocket. That had been an interesting encounter, he had to admit he'd never sat with an Assassin before, he wondered what she was doing in Vale. Just who was she working for? He opened his scroll and went through the news, there had been no mysterious deaths recently, indeed if anything crime was low at the moment, if one discounted the recent dust robberies, but no murders at all. That was odd very odd.

Well never mind, now he needed to buy some books for that bookshelf. Thankfully there a decent bookstore nearby, Tuksons Book Trade.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Tohru Adachi let out a bored sigh as he lay on his futon staring at the ceiling of his cell. It was rather spacious considering, probably because they wanted to keep him separate from the rest of the population, him being a former cop and all.

"Man, what drag, this so boring." he complained "I know I promised I'd follow the rules of this world, but sheesh. Not even a book to read."

Time passed slowly as he awaited his trial. He'd confessed to his crimes just as he promised which had exonerated Namatame...mostly. Frankly, he'd never meant for Nanako to get targeted, that wasn't his fault or Namtame's it was that dumbass politician's fault, interviewing kids and making Nanako a target of the town's curiosity.

"Perhaps I can be of service." Adachi sat up to see a woman standing in the corner. of the cell.

Her skin was a deathly pallor, covered with deep red and purple veins that run up her arms and face. The sclerae of her eyes were jet black and her irises glowed red. In the centre of her forehead was a black diamond-shaped marking. She was wearing a very long black robe with red designs resembling eyes. She also had a ring resembling an insect on her right index finger. Her white hair formed into a bun with six offshoots from which ornaments were suspended.

"You know, my grandma's dead and even if I dug her up I bet she wouldn't be nearly as ugly as you are." Adachi chuckled as he got a good look at the stranger "If you're a god I'm not interested, I'm done being a deities plaything." he promptly lay back down and turned away from her.

"No, I'm not a god" She chuckled not rattled at all by the insult. "But I am interested in acquiring your services, Tohru Adachi. Well, those of you and your Persona Magatsu Izanagi."

That caught Adachi's attention, causing him to sit back up and look at the woman.

"Who are you?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"My name is Salem." She introduced herself "I am from another world quite like this one, it is called Remnant."

"Remnant sounds like a shithole."

"It is far bloodier than this world, and quite a bit more advanced, in certain areas anyway. Recently things were going smoothly however a factor has caused my plans to hit some snags." Salem stated calmly "My enemy, Ozpin has enlisted the aid of a Persona user to help him, Yu Narukami."

Adachi barely stopped himself from reacting to the name.

"So come to my world and help me even the score and in return, you'll be free of this cell." Salem said, "Well, is my offer agreeable?"

A few seconds of silence passed before Adachi finally answered. "Nah."

"Oh? Is my offer not enough?"

"I promised to follow the rules of this world, that means no jailbreaks," Adachi replied with a sigh resting his head on his arms

"Hmm...if that is the only issue, then I can make it so when you return to this world no time will have passed at all," Salem told him. "No one will even realize you have been gone. So, do we have an accord?"

"What do you want me to do exactly?" Adachi asked suspiciously looking at her know outstretch hand, her nails were rather sharp and claw-like. "Cause I don't really like taking orders."

"Mostly, spreading negativity amongst the masses, helping out one of my newest subordinates with her plans. I assure you as long as you aid her, you will have the freedom to do as you please."

"Fine, deal." Adachi stood up and took her hand.

When he did so he felt a searing pain on the back of the hand he'd used. On it appeared a red symbol which appeared to be centred around a stylized representation of an eye.

"Ah, shit what the f-" Adachi didn't get to complete his curse as he felt like he was being dragged underwater. The sensation lasted for a few seconds before he found himself a room with large windows and a long table with several chairs around it. "-ok?"

"We're here," Salem stated calmly

Adachi saw three people sat at the table, three guys, a large musclebound stoic looking person with his arms folded, a crazy-eyed guy with a scorpion tail and some nerdy looking old geezer. He felt it, like he was in the TV World again, and couldn't help the grin which crossed his lips as he Magatsu Izanagi growl in the back of his mind, the surge of power was intoxicating just like it had been before.

"Warn me before you do shit like that, queen bitch," Adachi grumbled as Salem simply walked away towards the head of the table.

"How dare you speak to the goddess like that!" The crazy looking scorpion guy screeched.

The man then leapt up onto the table and charged at Adachi, he was stopped partway as something painfully grabbed his tail causing him to fall onto his face. He looked up and whimpered slightly at the sight of Magatsu Izanagi glaring down at him. Then he was harshly slammed into the ground and then swung by his tail and slammed into the ground again, this repeated a few times before he was flung into a pillar and sent into unconsciousness.

"Arthur," Salem called out to the moustached man from next her seat ignoring what had just happened. She slid a small box towards Arthur which he took. "Please deliver this and the updated orders we discussed to Cinder, in addition, I'd like you to take Mr Adachi to Vale with you, unlock his Aura and help him awaken his Semblance. Then you may return to your other duties. Oh and do make sure that dear Cinder knows that Mr Adachi is an assistant and not a subordinate."

"Of course your grace." The man said giving a bow as he stowed the box away in a pocket and stood up. "I am Arthur Watts, now come along Mr Adachi we have a long trip ahead of us."

"Yeah, whatever nerd," Adachi said clicking his tongue derisively, earning a sigh from Arthur.

"Oh, before I forget here you go." Salem pulled a revolver out of her sleeve and handed it to Adachi. "A gift, it is made of a special metal that will allow it to channel the power of your Persona through it."

Adachi's smirk grew into a full-blown grin as he inspected the gun like it was a new toy. Then suddenly he aimed it at a wall and pulled the trigger, however instead of a bullet out of it erupted a large fireball which easily blew a hole in said wall.

"Oh I'm gonna have fun with this." Adachi chuckled putting the gun away and continuing to follow Watts out of the room.

When they were gone Hazel looked at Salem.

"With respect your grace, that man cannot be trusted, he will betray us," Hazel stated looking suspiciously after Adachi and Watts.

"I am quite aware Hazel. However, he will behave because if he gives me a reason to cancel our contract he'll be sent home and won't be able to help Narukami." Salem answered with no concern. "He won't be able to do any major damage anyway, by the time his usefulness has expired his replacement should be ready. Besides" Salem walked over to a window and looked out of it. "Adachi is not the only ace up my sleeve."

Hazel stood up and walked behind her, he looked out to see black ooze moving out of the spawning pools, very few new Grimm were being created, instead, nearly all of the pools were being diverted to something big, very big. It was humanoid shaped and was leaning lifelessly against one of the giant purple crystals which dotted the landscape.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 or RWBY they are the property of their respective owners, any resemblance to any other Persona 4 or RWBY fan fiction is coincidental and plagiarism is not intended. No flames please constructive criticism only.**

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Yu had decided to get on the Airship that was taking the first years in order to get back to Beacon. Everything was fine, apparently, everyone just thought he was a first year and he was content to let them believe that. If only to see the look of surprise on their faces when they found out he was a teacher.

" _In other news, another person has mysteriously vanished, making them the fifth one in the string of disappearances that began last week, the police have released a statement saying that they have established a task force dedicated to solving this mystery._ "

"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!"

Yu looked over to see a girl dressed in yellow squeezing the air out of a smaller silver eyes girl dressed in red. The girl in red was Ruby Rose if he remembered her profile correctly. He'd taken a read of it after Ozpin talked about her interrupting one of Roman Torchwicks robberies. The girl in yellow was Yang Xiao Long her half-sister through their father Taiyang Xiao Long.

"Please stop…" Ruby gasped out as her sister squeezed the air out of her lungs.

"But I'm so proud of you," Yang said finally releasing her sister.

As he saw her looking at the ground bashfully Yu decided to intervene if only to spare Ruby further embarrassment.

"So you must be Ruby Rose," Yu said getting both girls attention.

"Yeah that's me, how do you know my name?" Ruby asked

"You're the one who helped foil Roman Torchwicks latest robbery right?" Yu asked "They did a bit about you on the morning news. I'm Yu Narukami by the way."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ruby Rose but you already knew that." Ruby babbled "This is my sister Yang."

"Nice to meet ya," Yang said shaking Yu's hand. "So what can we do for you?"

"Well, since Ms Rose here foiled a robbery I wanted to share something with you." Yu said withdrawing a deck of Tarot cards similar in design to the ones Igor used and sitting down "Tell me do you believe in fortune telling?"

"I like to keep an open mind," Yang said sitting down along with Ruby as Yu laid out six cards in a pattern similar to the one Igor had done back at the beginning of his journey.

"Oh I do," Ruby said excitedly "Are you gonna tell our fortunes?"

"I'm not quite good enough to do that but what I want each of you to do is chose one card from this spread." Yu said "Just chose one and I'll tell you what it represents. You can learn a lot about people by knowing what Arcana they represent. Don't over think this, there's no wrong answer."

Ruby was thoughtful for a second before choosing a card at the top of the spread, while Yang confidently picked up the card at the bottom of the spread, knocking one other card out of position as she did so.

"Alright show me what you've got." Yu watched as Ruby showed him the Star Arcana in her hand while Yang had the Sun.

"So what do they mean?" Ruby asked excitedly.

"Well, the Star in its upright position as you've chosen it is commonly associated with hope, self-confidence, faith, altruism, luck, generosity, peace and joy." Yu explained, "Usually people under this Arcana usually embody traits in one way or another."

"Well my little sis is certainly lucky and hopeful that's for sure," Yang said, "So what's mine mean?"

"Well, the Sun typically symbolizes happiness, joy, energy, optimism, and accomplishment." Yu stated, "People under this Arcana sometimes find themselves in bad situations but are still pretty optimistic despite that."

"You said upright position before" Ruby pointed out "So what do the reversed positions mean?"

"Well, for the reversed Star Arcana it can mean a lack of faith, despair or otherwise discouragement about something." Yu replied "The reversed Sun Arcana, on the other hand, can mean Temporary depression or a lack of success. It can also mean that you're being too positive about a situation and might need a reality check."

"So what…I need a reality check?" Yang asked slightly offended.

"No, only if you'd chosen the Sun in its reversed position" Yu replied calmly "You chose it upright so you're good."

"Well I think that's enough for today," Yu said picking up the cards and returning them to the deck, along with the ones Ruby and Yang were holding. He then pocketed the deck and began walking away "Until our paths cross again, farewell."

Yu felt a slight satisfaction at getting to say that after Margaret had said it to him so many times, he decided to watch Ruby and Yang from afar as he melted into the crowd..

The news feed was cut off when a hologram of Glynda appeared with her hands behind her back.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon," Glynda said.

"Who's that?" Yu heard Yang ask.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch."

"Oh"

"You are among a privileged few who have received the honour of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge, and the training to protect our world." Glynda said before the hologram disappeared.

Ruby walked towards the window transfixed as she put her palms pressed flat on the glass, "Wow! Look, you can see Signal Academy from here! I guess home isn't too far after all."

"Beacons our home now" Yang stated as she walked up to Ruby.

Yu watched an armoured blonde boy making nauseous sounds and saw him run to the nearest restroom. He let out a chuckle when he saw that the boy had gagged and puked over Yang's shoes which caused both her and Ruby to be grossed out.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

When landing on a dock, all of the students exited the bullhead and got out onto a landing dock. Some gaped as they looked over the majestic towers that made up the school. Yu meanwhile, decided to stick back and enjoy the sights. He wasn't in any particular hurry and watched as Ruby began flitting around gleefully looking at other students weapons.

"Oooh, Oh Sis! That kid has a collapsible staff! That girl has a fire sword!"

"Easy there, little sister, they're just weapons," Yang said lightly yanking her sister back next to her by the red hooded cloak she wore.

"Just weapons?" They are the extensions of us! They're a part of us! They're so cool!" Ruby gave her sister a shocked look and was even holding her arms held out in disbelief.

Yang looked over her sister in confusion, her head cocking slightly.

"Well, why can't you swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?"

"Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose! I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people, but better." Yu watched Ruby unfold and start hugging her large crimson scythe-like it was a teddy bear.

"Ruby, come on. Why don't you try to make some new friends of your own while you're here?" Yang asked her sister rolling her eyes and pulling Ruby's good over her head.

Ruby looked up at her sister in confusion, as she tilted her head to the side. "Why should I need friends when I have you?"

A few other people showed up behind Yang as she started stepping away.

"Weeelll actually my friends are here now. Gotta go catch up, catch ya later, bye!" She exclaimed very quickly before running off with her 'friends' and leaving Ruby behind.

"Wait!" Where are you going? Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we even have dorms?" Ruby asked spinning around dizzily. "I don't know what I'm doing."

"What are you doing?!" a new girls voice demanded as Ruby fell backwards into a large pile of luggage.

The young woman was dressed in a pale blue bolero jacket over a similarly coloured thigh-length dress with a piece of black lace making up the neckline of the dress, which was a combat skirt. The inside of the bolero was red with the sleeves turning blue as they get closer to her wrists. She was wearing an apple-shaped necklace along with a pair of thin, rectangular earrings along with white, heeled wedge boots that go to mid-calf, also lined with red on the inside. Her long white hair was pulled back in an off-center ponytail, at the base of which is a small tiara that resembles icicles. She also had a pale complexion and ice blue eyes.

"Uhh, sorry," Ruby apologized

"Sorry? Do you have any idea of the damage you could've caused?" The white-haired girl scolded as Yu recognised her as Weiss Schnee.

"Uhhhhh" Ruby didn't know how to respond as she tried to help by picking up a suitcase.

"Give me that!" the girl demanded snatching the suitcase from Ruby. "This is Dust! Mined and purified from the Schnee Quarry." She ranted as she withdrew a bottle of powdered Dust from her suitcase which Yu noticed had a cork sea instead of a proper airtight seal.

"Uhhhh." The red hooded girl had no idea what to say as the girl angrily ranted at her.

"What are you brain dead? Dust," the girl in white growled as she closed the suitcase. "Fire, water, lightning, energy," She shook the bottle as if to emphasise every word, dust escaping each time.

"I... I know...," The silver eyed girl began but due to the Dust that was tickling her nose she couldn't finish and began trying to hold in a sneeze.

"Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in?"

The girl gave one final shake of the bottle, which caused some more of the dust to escape the vial float into Ruby's nose.

"Aaachooo!" The smaller girl sneezed causing a small non-lethal explosion resulting in smoke, lightning, fire and other effects from the ignition of the Dust.

The bottle flew out of Weiss's hand before it landed on the ground before rolling towards a black boot. The intact bottle was picked up by a girl dressed mostly in black, who had kept her attention on a book which she had been reading the whole time. She turned the bottle before looking at the logo on the vial and focused her attention on where it came from.

"I'm really, really sorry." Ruby apologized while poking two pointed fingers together in an ashamed manner.

"Ugh, you complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?" Weiss questioned as she insulted Ruby.

"Hey I said I was sorry princess" Ruby yelled back at the other girl.

"It's heiress actually." Another voice replied in a calm tone.

The young girl was of pale complexion, similar to Ruby Rose. She had long, wavy, black hair, and her eyes were amber, complemented by light-purple eyeshadow flaring backwards. The eyes were slightly tilted upwards at the ends, giving her a somewhat catlike appearance. She also had a black ribbon tied in the form of a bow. Her outfit consisted of black low-heeled boots and stockings that started off black at her hips but gradually faded to purple nearer her shoes. There were black ribbons on both of her arms, with a black detached sleeve and a silver band on her left arm. She wore a black buttoned vest with coattails and a white, sleeveless undershirt that exposes part of her midriff with white shorts that may be connected to her shirt, although it is partly obscured by the vest. Her shorts had a zipper on the front of each leg. She also had a detached scarf-like collar around her neck.

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world." The girl in black stated matter-of-factly.

"Finally, some recognition," Weiss said smugly

"The same company infamous for its controversial labour forces and questionable business partners." The black haired girl finished causing Ruby to giggle and Yu to chuckle.

"Wha…how dare the…the nerve of…" Weiss feeling insulted was unable to form words, eventually, she simply scoffed, took back her Dust from other girls hand before stalking away.

"I promise I'll make this up to you!" Ruby yelled towards the heiress before looking down a bit in defeat and sighing. "I guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day."

" _Isn't she the dolt for shaking an improperly sealed dust vial in someone's face like a monkey with a rock?_ " Loki asked with an audible smirk.

"Sooo what's y…" Ruby looked around stopped when she saw that the girl in black had walked away "Welcome to Beacon"

Ruby promptly fell and law backwards on the ground. A shadow fell over Ruby and she opened her eyes to see a hand extended down at her, belonging to the vomiting boy from on smiling slightly, "You alright? I'm Jaune."

"Ruby" she replied taking his hand, using it to help herself up before snorting when she recognised him "Aren't you the guy who threw up on the ship?"

After Ruby had said that the two engaged in conversation, Yu had decided to take pity on them and began leading them to the auditorium where all the students were supposed to gather.

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" Jaune stated motioning his hands to try and emphasise his point.

"Look, I'm sorry! Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind." Ruby chuckled at Jaune's expense.

"Oh, yeah? What if I called you Crater Face?" Jaune smirked at his comeback.

"Hey, that explosion was an accident!" Ruby protested

"Well, the name's Jaune Arc!" Jaune thumbed himself "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue - ladies love it!"

"Do they?" Ruby asked raising her eyebrow sceptically.

"They will! Well, I-I hope they will. My mom always says that... Never mind." Jaune decided to stop his babbling before he embarrassed himself further.

" _This kid is gonna be pure cringe I can already tell._ " Cu Chulainn commented.

Ruby giggled before a short, awkward silence fell over the two, while Yu trailed behind wondering why they were going this way when the auditorium was the other way.

"So... I got this thing!" unfolded a large red scythe; clearly this was 'Crescent Rose' that she was talking about earlier when she got off the airship.

"Whoa! Is that a scythe?" Jaune asked jumping back in surprise

"It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle!" Ruby stated

"It's also a gun," Yu spoke up surprising the two.

"Gah!"

"Eep"

"Yu?! Where did you come from?" Ruby asked getting over her shock.

"I've been following both of you wondering why you were going the wrong way," Yu replied casually.

"Wait we've been going the wrong way?" Jaune exclaimed.

"Yup, the auditorium is this way" Yu corrected them and began leading down the right path.

"So what've you got?" Ruby asked resuming the conversation.

"Oh! I, uh..." Jaune unsheathed a blade at his side "I got this sword!"

"Ooooohh!"

"Yeah, and I've got a shield, too!" Jaune took his scabbard, raised his arm and expands the metal into its shield form.

"So, what do they do?" Ruby asked touching the shield

Jaune fumbled with the shield as it retracts off his arm, expands, and retracts again before putting it back in place and finally shrinking it down for good, placing it on his belt. "The shield gets smaller, so when I get tired of carrying it, I can just... put it away..."

"But... wouldn't it weigh the same?"

"Yeah, it does..." Jaune replied dejectedly.

"Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, so I guess I did go a little overboard when designing it." Ruby giggled bashfully

"Wait - you _made_ that?!"

"Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons! Didn't you make yours?"

"It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war."

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me!" Ruby laughed before stopping "Well, I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."

"Yeah, the classics..." Jaune said with a sigh.

"So Yu what do you have?" Ruby asked

"I have this" Yu partly unsheathed Totsuka no Tsurugi which gleamed in the sunlight "It's called Totsuka no Tsurugi and back in my village it was said to have wielded by the father of the gods it's been with our people for centuries."

"Really? That sounds so cool" Ruby exclaimed, "So how did you get a hold of it?"

"I passed an important test and I was given possession of it" Yu replied sticking with the story Ozpin had come up with.

"How hard was the test?"

"The examiner's name was Margaret, she was the swords keeper and protector." Yu lied deciding it was easier than telling them about the Reaper. "She used a Grimoire."

"You mean like a book?" Ruby questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Why didn't she have a weapon?"

"Because she didn't need one, with a Grimoire alone she beat me half to death," Yu told them seriously.

That part was true. While his friends had taught him the importance of bonds and friendship Margret had taught Yu about humility. It was just before his fight with Izanami after Igor had given him the Orb of Sight. Yu was feeling very cocky at the time as if he couldn't be defeated and so agreed to fight Margret solo. A choice she quickly made him regret.

While he had somehow triumphed, Yu was certain that during the fight Margret had beaten him to death then beaten him back to life with that Grimoire.

"Sheesh, she sounds scary." Jaune gulped nervously.

"More than you can imagine, I'm not sure she knows how to hold back," Yu said.

"Soooo why'd you help me out back there? In the courtyard?" Ruby asked changing the subject.

"Eh, why not? My mom always says, 'strangers are just friends you haven't met yet'."

"Alright, here we are," Yu said as they arrived outside the auditorium.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

When Yu had finished leading them both to the auditorium Ruby and Yu heard a familiar voice calling to the red coloured girl.

"Ruby over here I saved you a spot" she waved at her sister.

"Oh! Hey, I-I gotta go! See you after the ceremony!" Ruby ran off to join her sister.

"Hey, wait!" Jaune let a sigh of defeat as Yu melted away into the crowd "Ah, great. Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?"

"How's your first day going, little sister?" She asked while rubbing the back of her head.

Ruby tried her best to look angry, but it probably came off as more cute than threatening. "You mean since you ditched me and you exploded?" She said, flailing her arms,

"Yikes! Meltdown already?"

"No, I _literally_ exploded a hole in front of the school! And there was some fire, and I think some ice...?"

"Are you being sarcastic?" Yang asked with a broad smile on her face.

"I wish!" Ruby scoffed not noticing Weiss right behind her "I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I exploded, and then she yelled at me again, and I felt really, _really_ bad, and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!"

"You!" Weiss yelled angrily.

"Oh God, it's happening again!" Ruby yelled leaping into her sister's arms out of fright.

'Welp time try out my strict teacher mode.' Yu had chosen a particular Persona for the job, one that would allow him to appear stern but fair in his duties as a teacher.

"You're lucky the Dust didn't ignite and blow us off the cliff!" She yelled putting her hands on her hips

"It was an accident! I swear!" She was interrupted when Weiss shoved what appeared to a pamphlet in her face. "W-what's this?"

"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for- Weiss was cut off as Yu grabbed her arm forced it back by her side.

"Enough," Yu said with a stern tone that caused Weiss to flinch. "The fault for the incident earlier lies with you."

"M-me but she-"

"Was not the one who was waving around an improperly sealed vial of dust, I'd say you were acting like a child but even children know better than to wave around dust like that." Weiss flinched again at the tone of his voice, nevertheless, he pressed on "Cork sealed vials were phased out by Beacons Dust safety regulations twenty years ago and from Vale's ten years ago, you have no excuse for being in violation, And acting like a child, when someone trips over your luggage. Cutting corners will not gain you anything in Beacon, you are an adult now start acting like one."

"I-I-Hpmh" Weiss unable to retort and so stalked away into the crowd.

"Hey, thanks for that," Yang said with a smile as she gave Ruby a noogie. "My sis is socially awkward enough as it is."

"OW- Yang let go." Ruby cried struggling to break her sister's grip.

"It's nothing, you'd think she'd know better than to wave dust around like that," Yu replied with a shrug.

"So where you learn to speak so sternly?" yang asked.

"I spent a lot of time with my Uncle he's a detective and pretty stern guy, not one for nonsense."

"Wow, our uncle's a huntsman but he's not serious at all," Ruby said.

"Yeah and he stinks of booze whenever he visits," Yang commented.

"Yang!"

"What? It's true."

The opening ceremony began with Ozpin, taking the stage and Glynda, by his side.

"I'll… Keep this brief." He said, adjusting his glasses. "You have travelled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." He paused in his speech just for a moment and glanced into the crowd. "But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy-"

"Better to have energy to waste than to have none at all old man!" A voice suddenly interrupted getting snickers and some surprised looks from the crowd. Glynda meanwhile glared into the crowd trying to find the perpetrator to no avail.

Thinking about it, wasn't that voice familiar?

"Ahem, You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far-"

"WHAT?" The same voice from a few seconds ago yelled loudly.

"Excuse me?" Glynda angrily tried to find the culprit.

"What the hell is he talking about?"

"Be quiet and-"

"I think he's saying that knowing stuff isn't enough." A feminine voice answered the loud male one cutting off Glynda this time. Again the deputy headmistress tried to find them but no avail, but Yu knew both voices and suppressed a smirk.

"Well no shit, I didn't come here to smack the Grimm to death with my textbooks!" The male voice yelled "Boo! Get off the stage old man!"

"And do more than a five-second search for your speeches next time!" The female voice jeered.

This got a round laughs from most of the crowd save a few holdouts.

"You will all gather in the ballroom tonight, initiation will be tomorrow that is all." For his part, Ozpin managed to avoid looking embarrassed save for the small flush which Yu was able to catch as he walked off stage.

"Well, that was a thing," Yang said after she and Ruby got their giggling under control.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

It didn't take long for Yu to find the culprits, all he had to do was follow the clearly inhuman laughing to a room that appeared to be for storage in a corridor off to the side of the auditorium.

Inside he found them, a large fox with nine golden tails and a large red skinned muscle-bound creature that could be mistaken for a man wearing blue clothing, with a pair of horns atop his head. It was two of his Personae, Kitsune and Oni respectively, the former was a nine-tailed fox worshipped as Deities and also known for being tricksters who pulled pranks, the latter were known to raid and loot villages….amongst other things. He recalled letting kitsune out to roam, but not Oni.

"Oh I brought him out with me, I wanted his help to pull this prank on the old man." Kitsune explained still chuckling. "I just used a little…trick to throw both our voices."

Ah, that explained it, neither had done any real damage so he saw no harm in it, but this was new…..no one must be allowed to bring Incubus out with them….ever.

" _Agreed_." All of his personae chorused as one bar Incubus himself who groaned at the unfairness of it.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Afterwards, Yu avoided the crowds and retired to his room, deciding to stay there for the evening. Falling asleep he found himself in the back of a familiar looking limousine. As per usually happened, his personae all fell silent.

Opposite him was Margaret, but strangely Igor was missing.

"Ah, welcome back to the Velvet Room, I'm afraid my master is….out at the moment." That was odd, Margaret is usually straight in addressing matters as if it was a trivial thing, however she seems to be being careful with her wording.

"I would like to be surprised seeing you here again, however as I said before this room is tightly bound to you, nothing happens here without reason." Something strange was going on here. "Now how can I help you?"

"Is it something I could help with?" Yu couldn't help but ask, Margret was silent, whatever she was keeping silent on Yu's curiosity couldn't keep it away.

"Things are….difficult right now for Master Igor, however, Master Philemon assures me that the current state of affairs is temporary, you need not concern yourself with it," Margret replied mustering calmness and confidence in her tone.

Yu wasn't satisfied with the answer but decided to let it be. If something did happen, then he'd come and stop it. And neither gods nor demons would stop him.

"Philemon mentioned that there was another Wild Card sent to Remnant before me, I was wondering if you knew anything about her," Yu asked getting to another matter he was also curious about.

"I see, well to clarify perhaps the wording was incorrect, a Wild Card was not sent, per-se. not in the way you have been at least." Margret explained, changing her careful stance as they talked about something else. "He blessed a girl here on Remnant with the Wild Card ability, hoping with it she would be able to make a difference. However, her journey was sadly cut short. Very short, she managed to begin to foster only three bonds before she died."

"Only three?" Yu mumbled to himself, that was a very small amount, sure Remnant was dangerous, more so than Earth by an order of magnitude but how did she die so quickly? So many unanswered questions. "Alright, what was her name?"

He wanted to know more about her, he couldn't help but be curious, he'd never known another Wild Card and this was about as close as he was going to get, so getting to know her life and possibly more importantly, what happened to her seemed like a decent idea. "Her name was Gretchen, Gretchen Rainart."

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

The next day he'd completed his morning routine and after some self made breakfast and some light reading he had gone to the Beacon cliffs which overlooked the Emerald Forest, he chose to stand at end of the line, not on any of the launch pads, not that any of the students noticed this as they were more focused on Ozpin.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin stated

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumours about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today." Glynda told them looking at her scroll.

"What? Ohhh..."

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin said ignoring Ruby's groan. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

"Whaaaat?!" Ruby cried out in shock.

"See? I told you-!" An orange haired girl wearing pink said to a young man wearing mostly green.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."

" _He's not wrong, that forest is dangerous especially to them._ " Chiron commented.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, um, sir?" A blond haired boy raised his hand hoping to get Ozpin's attention.

"Good! Now, take your positions."

Everyone began striking poses on their respective tile some were serious, others just looked like they wanted to show off.

"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question. So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?"

" _This kid can't be serious right?_ " Cu Chulainn asked

"No. You will be falling.

"Oh, uh, I see... So, did you, like, hand out parachutes for us?" He asked missing the students being sent flying.

" _How is he not noticing this?_ " Belial wondered with annoyance.

"No. You will be using your own "landing strategy."

At her turn, Yang winked at her younger sister, puts on a pair of aviators, and flies off with a "Woo-hoooooooo!" a second after Ruby joins her.

"So, what exactly is a landing strategYYY!" Jaune is promptly sent flying into the forest with the rest of the students.

" _I get the feeling he enjoyed that._ " Scathach commented.

Ozpin, for his part, simply takes a sip of his drink

"I sincerely hope I'm not having to deal with another Jason." Chiron sighed as he manifested beside Ozpin as Yu walked over to Glynda's side.

"Be fair Chiron." Atalanta admonished him appearing next to him. "Jason is kind of a low bar to set."

"Indeed." Heracles rumbled also materialising "No one can be as bad as Jason after all his silver tongue was the only thing the bastard had going for him."

Both the Chaste huntress and the Son of Zeus remained silent when Chiron face-palmed as Jaune lead his partner new partner Pyrrha Nikos into what was a clearly marked Deathstalker's den, why she did not stop him and point this out was beyond him.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Later on, at the ruins Jaune found himself doing a faceplant into the dirt, limbs splayed out, which served as the perfect landing spot for Weiss who fell onto his back in a seated position.

"My hero," Weiss said mockingly

"My back..." Jaune groaned painfully

Suddenly Pyrrha landed by them, having been tossed by the deathstalker which had been pursuing Jaune and her after they had disturbed it in its lair.

"Great! The gang's all here! Now we can die together!" Yang cries sarcastically.

"Not if I can help i-eek" Ruby was about to charge the deathstalker but skidded to a halt as something large and golden impaled the Deathstalker and lifted it up into the air.

The ground shook, with a loud thud, then another and another quicker and quicker. Suddenly the trees were smashed aside. The eight followed the golden appendage to a scorpion which dwarfed the deathstalker by several times, its whole body was golden, like flowing sand, with a pair of large sapphire coloured eyes at the front each with a row of five smaller eyes to the side of them.

"What is that?" Nora asked in awe.

"That's no Grimm." Ren stated backing off but keeping his weapons trained on it.

It opened its mouth let out a loud screech, which forced them all to cover their ears, then it suddenly began inhaling.

"No!" Ruby cried out "Our relics!" she reached out for the relics which quickly flew into the scorpion's mouth and were swallowed It then lower the impaled deathstalker into its sight. Which futility snapped its pincers at it.

"Hmmm...what a pathetic creature, pah is this the quarry hunters of this age die in pursuit of?" The beast rumbled displeasure before flinging the Deathstalker into the air where it collided with the giant nevermore killing both, it then turned its attention those In front of it "Well, recess time is over kids, I swallowed your relics and if you try to go without them you fail. So if you want to pass this test you'll have to fight me for them."

"You can talk?" Jaune stammered. "Are you a Grimm?"

"Don't lump me with those petty beasts!" The scorpion yelled angrily its cool sapphire eyes turning an angry ruby red "I am Scorpio! I was born by Mother Earth herself to slay the greatest hunter of all time! Now chose, run away and live as cowards and failures, or fight and die for your future, now choose!"

"Well, we've come this far, there no way I'm running away now!" Ruby yelled cocked her sniper rifle.

"Yeah, the bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Jaune agreed drawing his sword and standing next to her.

They were quickly joined by their partners and respective others who all agreed readied to fight.

"Ah, the endless pride of Children of Man I'd almost forgotten, well then I accept your challenge now children FIGHT AND DIE WELL!"

The Scorpion then jumped at them all. The group quickly scattered as Scorpio crashed into their previous position. He quickly recovered from his landing and began turning to see where they all were. Ren and Jaune had their backs to the temple ruins. Blake had taken to a high branch in the treeline while Yang and Nora held their ground off to the side. Ruby, Pyrrha and Weiss were behind Scorpio with their backs facing the cliffs.

Nora charged letting out a battle cry, Magnhild raised, she leapt into the air and brought her hammer down upon the top of Scorpio's head, the impact let out a clang and Nora fell to the ground vibrating as her the ripples from her own attack went back into her.

"Haha, I barely felt a thing, here try this!" Scorpio made to impale Nora with his stinger but she was tackled out of the way at the last second by Ren.

"Nora this isn't a Grimm you have to be careful." Ren admonished her.

"Sorry, Renny."

"You're quick on your feet boy." Scorpio rumbled withdrawing its stinger from the ground.

There was a hissing sound coming from the deep hole, Yang could see the ground melting away in its depths,

"Woah, we don't wanna get stung by that." She commented with a gulp.

Suddenly ice began forming on the stinger, it grew until it enveloped most of it. Weiss smirked until Scorpio crashed his stinger into the ground, shattering the ice and freeing his tail, he then promptly smashed it into her, Pyrrha and Ruby, sending them crashing into the treeline.

Yang bellowed out in anger at the sight of her sister being hurt and charged the giant scorpion, punching him squarely between the eyes, however, just like with Nora, it did nothing. Scorpio responded by batting her away with a claw, sending her crashing backwards through several trees before crashing to a halt out of sight.

"Yang!" Blake cried out worried about her new partner.

"Ha, anyone else?" Scorpio asked casually batting away Jaune who tried to charge him form the side.

"You're gonna regret that," Ruby yelled with a smirk.

"Oh and I suppose you're going to make me?"

"No, Yang will."

"Huh?" Scorpio looked away from Ruby just in time to see a red flaming comet smash into his face sending him tumbling backwards before skidding to a stop near the edge of the cliff. "AAAGHHH! THAT ACTUALLY HURT!"

His face now visible again everyone could see the spot where Yang had hit had cracks spiderwebbing from it. She'd cracked his armour.

"She cracked his armour, if we can just do that again we can beat him," Jaune said.

"Nora's semblance lets her absorb electricity to become stronger," Ren informed him.

"That's it, I know how we can do this," Jaune stated with a look of realisation on his face. "Ruby, can you get Yang to send him into the air?"

Ruby looked confused for a second but nodded and dashed towards her sister, Crescent Rose extended.

"Sorry, Yang." She whispered as stopped just behind her sister.

Yang looked at her sister, seeing something in her hand, several strands of her hair. Yang's eyes and hair became red once again as she cried out with rage her flaming hair roaring to life with even more vigour than before.

"Yang uppercut!" Ruby yelled at her Berserker sister.

"What are you up to-agh!" Scorpio let out an annoyed growl as shots from Ren and Blake hit near his face forcing him to use his pincers to shield it lest his eyes be hit.

"Weiss, lightning dust hit Nora with everything you've got!" Jaune cried out urgently.

The heiress reluctantly nodded and charged Myrtenaster with Lightning Dust causing the blade to glow yellow, she promptly sent the bolt at Nora who began to tremble and gained a bloodthirsty grin on her face. Yang meanwhile charged at Scorpio who tried to use his tail to stop her, only for her to dodge it, she did a baseball slide under his pincers and gave him a powerful punch to his jaw with all the strength she had left sending the giant beast into the air.

"Pyrrha let's give her a boost," Jaune commanded getting a nod from the Amazon.

She jumped onto his shield and he sent her as high as she could. Nora launched herself into the air by firing grenades from Magnhild. She quickly reached Pyrrha and jumped onto Akouo and jumped off it. She was quickly into the air again and was just above Scorpio whose belly was facing the sky. So with a cry and all of her might, she slammed Magnhild into his belly and brought him crashing back down to Earth.  
[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Ozpin, Glynda and Yu both looked in the direction of the ruins where a loud crash and a cloud of dust had been kicked up, as the camera's near there had been damaged by the battle.

"Are they going to be ok?" Professor Goodwitch asked. "That 'persona' of yours is not part of the exam and is far more dangerous than the Grimm out in the forest."

"Scorpio's holding back, I'm sure they're probably going to be fine," Yu replied.

"Have faith Glynda," Ozpin said calmly taking a sip from his mug "Besides we need to measure their potential."  
[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Everyone coughed as the dust settled. When all was visible again they saw Scorpio lying on his back, large cracks spreading from his underbelly where Nora had struck him. Blood seeping out through the cracks in his exoskeleton.

Scorpio hacked and coughed, blood coming from his mouth as he did so.

"Did...we do it?" Ruby asked panting,

"Ha." Scorpio laughed causing her to flinch. "Not even close, if I wasn't holding back I'd kill you for this, but...I concede and acknowledge your potential." he coughed up the relics he'd swallowed. "Take your reward, however, know this Scorpio will fight you again and next time I won't hold back."

With that vow, the large scorpion, the bane of Orion, faded away in a burst of bluish light.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

"So what's your verdict?" Ozpin asked sipping from his mug again.

"They have potential," Yu said a few seconds after Scorpio returned to the Sea of Souls.

"They are flawed though, deeply" Chiron commented a frown on his face and his arms folded "Xiao Long's temper is an issue that must be addressed as soon as possible, not to mention Belladonna's lone wolf attitude"

"But that can wait," Yu interjected. "We'll see if their bonds will be strong enough, for what lies ahead."

Ozpin said nothing, merely sipping from his mug.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Emeanwhile a rather luxurious hotel room in Vale, Cinder Fall and her minions Mercury Black and Emerald Sustari were simply relaxing, until a man their boss recognised entered the room uninvited.

"Hello Arthur." Cinder greeted the man holding in her disdain for him.

"Ah, Cinder so you have managed to start the process of cleaning up your mess. Honestly losing the Maidens to a drunk, it's such a disgrace really you should be embarrassed."

Emerald clenched her fists but did nothing as Cinder gave her a sideways look which told her to say nothing.

"What do you want Arthur?" Cinder asked with irritation, a scowl on her face.

"To give you some new orders from Her Grace and to introduce someone whom she has decided will aid you, it seems you need all the help you can get." Watt's stated smugly.

A grunt and a complaint cut off any retort Cinder might have had.

"Why the hell...do I have to...lug this thing here?" A man's voice complained.

Cinder watched as a man in a suit and Tie entered the room hauling with him a solid flatscreen television. While true they were technically obsolete due to the existence of HoloTV's which had been invented by Atlas there was still a demand for them, as even though the former kingdom of Mantle had rebranded itself as Atlas their deeds were not so easily forgotten even now eighty years on.

The man set the TV down on the floor took let himself flop down onto the other sofa letting out a sigh.

"It is part of your semblance and I'm not built for manual labour," Watts replied brushing some dust off of his coat.

"Friggen nerd." Cinder couldn't help but like the man, if only a little.

"Nice suit, you steal it from a hobo?" Mercury chuckled to himself.

I don't have time for a dominatrix and her sub." Adachi said in a bored manner turning away from them to rest. "Do your kinky shit elsewhere."

"You sonuva-" "Mercury." he froze at Cinder speaking his name in a rather dangerous tone. "Sit down." Her tone left no room for argument.

"Now, as I was saying, Mr Adachi has a very useful Semblance, if you are polite I'm sure he'll help you, her grace also wanted to be clear, he is 'not' a subordinate, think of him more of an assistant," Arthur said as he sat down on another sofa.

"Oh? What kind of Semblance is it?" Cinder asked intrigued, knowing she wouldn't get any answers out of Adachi right now.

"The very rare kind, the last time its kind was recorded and used was about two hundred years ago?" Arthur shrugged.

Realization light up Cinder's eyes and she smirked. "I see that will definitely come in handy. But he can use it can't he?"

"Of course, it's active even now," Arthur replied nonchalantly before withdrawing a small box from his pocket and handing it to Cinder. "This is from Her Grace, now I take it our insiders have already told you about the death of the King of the Emerald Forest correct?"

"Yes, part of an S-class exam completed by Yu Narukami a new young hotshot who is now poised to become Ozpin's replacement." unseen to them, Adachi opened a single eye before shutting it again, he was now listening closely.

"He possesses a power known as Persona, it is what gave him the power to slay such a powerful Grimm." Watts explained "But that is not all, he has a power known as the Wild Card, something allows him to change Personae, to even more powerful ones. Her Grace is very interested in this power, you are going to use that..." Cinder opened the box within it saw a glove, similar to the one she had used to try and extract the Fall Maiden's power in the first place. "To conduct a little experiment. Do not worry, her grace has promised extra support for your plans just in case you need her to hold your hand a bit longer."

Cinder didn't rise to the bait, as much as she wanted to incinerate Watts she knew that Salem would punish her for it.

"Soo...what's the King of Emerald Forest?" Emerald asked cutting through the silence.

"A very powerful Grimm, named such because it is more powerful than any other in the forest." Cinder explained as she put on the glove which morphed and became one with her skin leaving only Salem's symbol behind. "Killing it means that Yu Narukami is the real deal."

"Indeed, I can't really give you specifics of what Persona actually is, near as I can tell it is similar to a Semblance," Watts said ignoring Adachi's snort.

"If we don't know what this Wild Card power is, how will this." Cinder held up the hand she had put the glove on "Let me harness it?"

"That is why I am here; Her Grace has given me orders to observe Mr Narukami for a while to gather data on this Persona power and the Wild Card ability. From my understanding she wishes to harness it, she attempted to do so on its previous bearer sadly she died before Her Grace could even meet the poor thing, Her Grace was most furious that day." Watts recounted grimacing at the memory of Salem's rage after hearing her target was dead, as he stood up. "At any rate, the data I gather will be used to adjust your glove, now I'm rather tired, thank you for letting me use your bed."

Cinder let out a deep breath as the infuriating man strode out and stole the luxury bed in the hotel room she had paid for out of her own funds.

"So what are going to do now?" Mercury asked.

"We will have to make some adjustments," Cinder replied examining her hand. "But I think this will be a very interesting experience. We can use Narukami for our benefit."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 or RWBY they are the property of their respective owners, any resemblance to any other Persona 4 or RWBY fan fiction is coincidental and plagiarism is not intended. No flames please constructive criticism only.**

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

It was the morning after Initiation. The students who had passed had returned to the ballroom to sleep and were beginning to stir, ready for the announcement of the Teams and Team leaders. However, that was not what Yu Narukami, Professor Goodwitch and Ozpin were concerned with at the moment.

"These eight students have great potential, however, their strengths are far outweighed by their flaws," Yu spoke to the Councillors who were all now present on the screen.

"They are children," Ozpin argued.

"Yes, one whom trashed a nightclub and did millions in damages, that's not counting the medical bills and compensation we had to pay for the numerous counts of assault and battery, that's a large chunk out the budget that could have been allocated to more productive things."

"Yang Xiao Long has the potential to do great good as a huntress." Ozpin countered.

"And I can make her and the others do better, which is why I'm asking to be allowed to put these eight in a private remedial class, I can make them all shine if I don't have interference from other people." Yu gave a sideways glance at Ozpin who simply sipped from his mug of coffee.

"A remedial class is unnecessary, Beacon has succeeded with its current methods for generations, yes I have made mistakes-"

"Mistake's which have cost people their lives." Yu cut in. "You've allowed your students far too much freedom, they end up causing unnecessary damage when they do become huntsman, leaving some people destitute and homeless."

"Perhaps you are forgetting who found and taught you?"

"You taught me to fight, but my sense of discipline and my morals, are all my own." Yu replied sternly "You don't bother instilling morality discipline, Raven Branwen can attest to that."

Ozpin grunted and visibly gripped his mug tighter.

"Enough!" A councillor yelled thumping a fist on the desk in front of him, finally having had enough of the argument. "Ozpin, your accumulating mistakes are concerning, as such we will approve this new private class, which will proceed without your inference."

"We will not, however, increase Beacon's budget to pay for it." Another councillor explained "Instead you will reallocate a portion of your already existing budget to this new class. Fifty thousand Lien sounds like enough, for this venture."

"More than enough, thank you councillors," Yu said giving a polite bow.

"There's more, will be granting you the power to punish and even expel students as you see fit," A different Councillor chimed in. "Ozpin will have the final say in these matters, however." The 'for now' was left unsaid, but still implied. "Also, we feel it best for you to….observe the rest of the staff, to see just how they are performing."

"That is all, Professor Goodwitch, ensure that this all happens accordingly, are we clear?"

"Crystal clear councillors." The deputy headmistress said with a respectful nod.

"Good, and Ozpin, I suggest you focus on making sure that the Vytal Festival goes off as flawlessly as possible." A female Councillor said, with a tone that seemed a bit more….upbeat than it had been before.

"Indeed, we have supplied the funds, but you will be the organiser, as usual, if anything goes wrong it will be on your head." No, it wasn't just him, the council definitely seemed a bit more pleased than when the conversation had started. "That's all for now, we will be watching closely."

With that, the transmission ended and the three nodded at each other and left the office.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Yu and Ozpin entered the staff room first, with Glynda, entering last and using her scroll to seal and lock the door, preventing any curious students from trying to listen in. Yu allowed himself to fall onto an empty sofa letting out a sigh of relief.

"So how did it go?" Peter asked both him and Bart were clearly curious to know.

"It worked," Glynda stated. "They have agreed to allow the class, however, they demanded we allocate some of our existing budget instead of giving us any more money."

"Capital." Peter said happily "It went well then?"

"Yeah, I think it helped convince them when I took shots at Ozpin as he suggested," Yu said looking at the man in question. "They seemed rather pleased near the end, they do not like you, do they?"

"Ozpin never did get along well with the Council," Glynda said shaking her head. "Always leaving me to clean up the messes he made when arguing with or outright ignoring them on certain issues."

"And you are paid very well for that," Ozpin said sipping from his coffee.

Whoever Raven Branwen was, it seemed like a spot the Council enjoyed criticising Ozpin on. He'd have to remember to look her up later. Just what had this woman done to become such a pain in Ozpin's ass?

' _Or what has Ozpin done to make her a pain in the ass._ ' Morgan le Faye commented still distrustful of the headmaster. Still, at least she wasn't repeating the fact anymore. Morgan huffed in response.

"You know this means you'll have to tread carefully now Ozpin." Bart pointed out "The council now has a reason to believe that you are no longer irreplaceable. Passing the S-class exam means that they probably can and will replace you with him if you aren't careful."

"True." Ozpin sipped from his mug once more "However it's not just I that will have to be careful, they asked Yu to….observe the staff's classes."

"Hmph…observe" Peter snorted not believing the word for a second.

"I imagine I'll be expected to look for mistakes and be on your back about it when they're made." Yu sighed not liking that part at all. "They really don't like that the staff is loyal to Ozpin."

"Well do not worry about it." Bart said sensing Yu's mood "We knew what to expect when we enacted this plan."

"Indeed," Peter agreed with a nod. "Our pride and feelings are nothing when compared to how much this Persona power could help." In response, Yu summoned the tarot of the Fool Arcana which spun in the air letting off a gentle blue glow which gave him a sense of ease. "If in the end it helps to turn the tide of the war against the Grimm then I don't care how much you must be their 'man' as it were."

"Thank you," Yu said feeling a bit better about the situation and letting himself sink into the sofa before the tarot card gave off a gentle pulse which caused him to sit up again. "Right, so they have a…..request." It was less of a request and more of a demand, but it was best to be diplomatic.

"Some of the others are bored stiff and wish to roam about." The voice belonged to Thoth, the Egyptian god of Wisdom, Knowledge and the Moon, as Persona he took the form of a baboon holding the book of the dead which he was said to have written, perched on the arm of the sofa. "Greetings, my name is Thoth, the god of wisdom and knowledge."

"Fascinating, are you an actual deity?" Bart inquired zooming close to Thoth to get a better look.

"No, think of me as a reflection of the actual Thoth, but I am no less skilled than he," Thoth explained before looking at Ozpin. "The others sent me because I am a diplomat, I am used to settling disputes between the gods, they tend to act like overgrown children, especially Sekhmet."

"A representation of a deity from a culture not known to Remnant, where the Grimm do not exist, the implications are astounding." The history teacher mumbled mostly to himself.

"Hmm….If I am to agree to this then there must be some ground rules." Ozpin said after a few moments of contemplation. "First, no permanent harm physical or otherwise towards the students."

Not an unusual rule, Beacon was not a civilian school, as such scuffles and small fights were expected and while yes, such things were technically against the rules, the Staff only really intervened if it was either outright bullying or if weapons were being used. Hence why he had said, permanent harm.

Thoth gave a nod after a few seconds. "Agreeable, but they want the right to defend themselves if they're attacked."

"Agreed."

"Ozpin!" Glynda objected with an annoyed grumble.

"Glynda you have been complaining for years about the ego's our students have been developing, especially those fresh from Signal and other such academies about being far stronger than civilians and thus believing themselves invincible, perhaps this way they shall learn humility," Ozpin said with a nonchalant tone.

"If they even are foolish enough to start a fight with one of these Persona's" Port pointed out.

"Also I must insist that Interaction is restricted to students and faculty at Beacon, with the exception of military or political figures, so please try not to wander off Beacon grounds." Ozpin seemed rather firm on this point.

"You expect a visit from the Council?" Bart inquired sipping from his thermos while still examining Thoth and even noting something down on a notepad.

"I expect James to come to the festival personally."

"Which mean's he'll be bringing his army." Glynda sighed putting a hand to her temple to massage it.

Yu couldn't be sure but he sensed a story behind Glynda's reaction. Perhaps a history between her and James Ironwood?

"I'd rather not have some jumpy soldier be frightened by a monster and trying to shoot it inside my school," Ozpin stated. "The same goes for the bodyguards of any politicians who will undoubtedly wish to schmooze with James and yourself."

Why would politicians want to talk to him?

"Simple lad, remember you have that interview with Lisa Lavender coming up," Peter said answering his unspoken question and reminding him of what Ozpin had spoken of after the meeting with the Council the morning after he arrived in Remnant. People would want to Toady up to him, wanting to use his position for their own ends.

"Indeed, that interview will the announcement of your existence to the world, as Ozpin's successor." Bart chimed in. "You are an unknown quantity and thus many will seek to curry your favour so expect lots of interviews and meetings and when the festival begins in earnest."

"Headmaster's do not appear every day." Glynda stated, "Those of your age even less so."

"I expect more people of influence will show up than they did in past events because you are young and not set in any particular mindset unlike James and Ozpin" Peter stated. "Both of whom are…"

"Pig-headed, stubborn"

"I think he gets your point, Glynda." Ozpin cut in before she could continue with her mini-tirade.

"Agreed, we weren't planning to leave the school anyway." Thoth stated "The non-human personas will be either too small to notice or look like small animals like birds. Those who cannot shapeshift aren't interested in this anyway, and the gods are used to just watching and not interfering."

It was true, most of those interested were either scholars of some sort, heroes who would likely wish to spar with students but would keep to the arena or small creatures like Pixie who would likely pull pranks while staying out sight, or Yatagarasu who would be mistaken for a crow, it was unlikely people would notice his third leg anyway without a second look.

Thoth might get away with it, while baboons weren't native to Sanus, Yu was sure people would just think he'd escaped from a Zoo or something. This line of thinking earnt him a dirty glare from said god of wisdom which in turn got chuckles from his other Persona's who remained in the Sea of Souls just watching the proceedings. Yu had long since gotten used to his persona's knowing what he was thinking. _I am thou and Thou art I_ after all.

"Some of the heroes would like to spar against the students in combat class," Thoth said perking up like someone who just remembered something they'd forgotten.

"I suppose I can arrange something, it will help to teach them some humility, but will that be ok?" Glynda asked looking at Yu with concern.

"They won't be using skills, that's what's most draining about using Persona's so it should be fine," Yu replied before thinking about the spars. "If you're worried about Aura, I recommend setting up a three hits rule for them." Not that Yu expected any of the Heroes' to allow themselves to be hit three times, if anything they'd see it as a challenge, especially considering few of the ones who wanted to spar were going to be using ranged weapons, the more battle maniacal heroes preferred to be in the very thick of battle fighting off enemies from all directions.

"Is that everything?" Glynda inquired.

"I believe it should d cover everything." Thoth stated, "Now if you'll excuse me." With that Thoth faded away in a swirl of blue flames, returning to the Sea of Souls.

"Well then, I think we should get going to the Team Naming Ceremony," Ozpin stated. "We'll need to introduce you to the school officially after all."

CAW!

Everyone looked up to see a crow had flown into the room from an open window carrying something large. Yu stood up and outstretched his hand, the crow let go of the object which fell into his waiting hand. It was a Totosuka-no-Tsurugi. The crow landed upon a bookshelf before vanishing in much the same way Thoth had.

"Another Persona? Bart asked.

"Yeah, that was Yatagarasu, a three-legged crow who was by sent the goddess Amaterasu to act as a guide for humans," Yu explained.

"Fascinating." Bart breathed. "Do you think one of your personas would consent to be interviewed for my own anthropological studies?"

"I can think of a few who might," Yu replied with a shrug. "Be warned, some of those who like to talk, don't really shut up when you get them going, so you might be stuck listening to them for hours."

"Oh I wouldn't worry, in that department, they'll have their match in Bart." Peter chuckled earning him a glare from the green haired man.

"That's rich coming from you Peter," Bart responded with a challenging tone.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Peter demanded angrily standing up and getting into Bart's face.

Glynda rolled her eyes while Ozpin merely smiled and motioned for Yu to follow.

"It means I'm surprised that you haven't killed one of your students from telling them your boring stories all the time!" Bart yelled angrily.

"Boring?!"

Yu stood up and followed the two out of the room, he could help but be reminded of Chie and Yosuke and how they bickered, giving one last glance back at the pair he chuckled before leaving and allowing the door to close behind him.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Yu watched the Team Naming Ceremony from backstage. It was nearing the end just three teams to go, two of which he had his eye on.

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark." Ozpin called out the names of the four students whose faces were displayed on the screen of the auditorium which showed their profile pictures which lined up as did the boys in question.

"The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team Cardinal, led by... Cardin Winchester!"

"Wait I thought these teams were supposed to be colours, how is Cardinal a colour?" Pixie asked perched in the corner near the ceiling watching the proceedings, she was joined by Jack Frost and Kitsune in her fox form who were both sat on a small ledge made of ice the former had created for them.

' _It is a shade of red._ ' Kohryu informed her from within the Sea of Souls.

"I believe it is also a reference to a type of bird native to North and South America." Thoth supplied, sat on a chandelier near the ceiling, joined by Yatagarasu who was perched next to him.

While Yu himself was content to lean against the wall adjacent to the stage out of view, some of his Persona's had wished to watch the proceedings, he saw no reason to refuse.

"Hee-they're a team of birdbrains ho." Jack Frost chuckled.

"He's right." Pixie laughed at the realization.

"Birdbrains of a feather flock together." Kitsune chuckled before noticing a frown on Yatagarasu's feathered face. "Oh come on Yaggy, don't tell me we've ruffled your feathers?"

The divine crow didn't even dignify her with a response, choosing instead to keep looking below at the proceedings.

"Hey, kitsune what soap do birds use?" Pixie asked still chuckling

"I don't know what soap do birds use?" Kitsune asked grinning.

"Dove!" the poor joke a got a round of laughs out of jack, Pixie and Kitsune, while Thoth and Yatagarasu remained silent.

"Calm down, it's not even that funny," Thoth stated.

"Oh Come Thoth, we're just 'Lark' ing around." Kitsune giggled.

"Yeah, Dove be in such a Thrush, to end our fun," Pixie smirked.

"Puns are the lowest form of humour you know." Thoth sighed.

"Shh, the next team is being announced." Yatagarasu interrupted them.

The audience a round of claps as team CRDL left the stage, while four more students walk up to the stage to take their places in front of the headmaster as their faces fill the screen.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie." Ozpin announced their names. "The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR."

Amid the applause, Nora laughed and gave her partner Lie Ren a hug.

"Led by... Jaune Arc!"

" Huh? L-Led by...?" The blond was caught off guard by this.

"Congratulations, young man."

Pyrrha offered a friendly shoulder bump to Jaune, only to knock him over send him onto his behind getting laughs out of the audience.

"Crossdressers" Pixie exclaimed excitedly as if she discovered the answer to a difficult puzzle.

"What?" Hee?" Kitsune and Jack Frost both looked at her in confusion.

"Don't you get it? Joan of Arc" Pixie pointed at Jaune "Achilles." She then pointed at Pyrrha "Thor" at Nora who was still hugging Ren "and Mulan." Finally Ren.

"Oh, I see it" Kitsune chuckled her tails wagging with her laughter. "They'll be a lot of fun I can tell."

"And finally; Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long." Ozpin motioned at the four as they stood before him and their profiles appeared on the screen. "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose!"

Weiss looked her partner with clear surprise on her face, while Ruby was obviously in shock herself as Yang went over and hugged her sister.

"I'm so proud of you!" Yang said proudly.

After the applause died down they made to leave but were stopped by Professor Ozpin.

"Please, wait a moment, Team JNPR please join them back the stage." Jaune and his team did as they were told and stood on Ozpin's other side. "Now I have two more announcements to make. First, you may have heard through news outlets that the King of the Emerald Forest has been slain. I now confirm that this is the case, it was done as part of an S-class examination."

The screen's suddenly changed, showing footage of the end part of the fight between Albion and the Silva Gigas, the former slugging it so hard it fell apart, the Geist fleeing only for Yu to give chase and slay it.

"Please, allow me to introduce my protégé and my successor as headmaster of Beacon Academy, Yu Narukami!" That was his cue, and with that, he put on his stern teacher face and walked out on stage.

There was no applause, only a deafening stunned silence, in which the footfalls of his boots echoed throughout the auditorium much like a loud drawn out heartbeat. His coat billowed behind him, Totsuka-no-Tsurugi peeked out from his side, in its sheath. He came to a halt before Ozpin.

"Greetings," Yu said with a stern tone. "You first years are all fresh, new to Beacon and the way of life which you've chosen. Yet, the flaws which of all you have, weighs you down as it did your performance in the initiation. But none of you were nearly as appalling as these eight."

Yu whirled on RWBY and JNPR causing Ruby and Jaune to flinch at his sudden gaze. He walked to the end of the line and began walking past them. "There are those whose temperament make's them a danger to all around them," his gaze passed over Yang flinched a bit but also glared defiantly at him. "There are those who think themselves above the set rules and are content to leave people to die." His gaze landed on Weiss who all but wilted, her eyes falling to the floor to avoid his, that concerned him a fear of authority figures maybe? No that didn't make sense he'd have to look into more later.

Then he moved past Ozpin and onto JNPR.

"Some are idiots of the highest calibre." His eyes locked onto Jaune who gulped and looked even more nervous than before. "And then there those who left their spines at home inviting stupidity to run the day." His gaze finally landed on Pyrrha who resisted flinching but still seemed ashamed.

Finally, Yu walked back to Ozpin and looked at both teams sternly.

"You eight will attend a private remedial class which I will be running." This gained looks of shock from members of both teams. "Attendance is mandatory."

"But why us?" Yang demanded angrily. "There have to be others who did worse."

"Yang no." Ruby tried to calm her sister down.

"Because those who did worse than you, did not pass the initiation." Yu replied focusing his gaze on her "The others in your year, their flaws can be ironed out by the regular curriculum, you, on the other hand, all need special attention. Let me be clear, as long as I do not approve, none of you will become Huntsman." This got gasps of surprise from Weiss, Ruby and Nora, and nervous looks from the others.

Satisfied he'd done his part, Yu walked off to the side of the stage. He watched as Team's RWBY and JNPR walked past him and back into the mumbling crowd.

"Thank you," Ozpin said silencing everyone "Now, on a final note, I must announce that sadly our previous nurse has retired, in her place I was fortunate enough to be able to swiftly hire a replacement to run the infirmary, please give a warm welcome to Margaret Velvet."

Yu's thought process immediately crashed to a halt, luckily, however, it did not show on his face, his Persona's voices had all fallen into a stunned hush. Out from the opposite side of the stage walked Margaret. Clad in her blue Velvet Room uniform. But why had she left the Velvet Room? He knew something had been wrong but, for her to leave the Velvet Room for an apparently extended period was unprecedented.

She didn't speak, merely taking a place beside Ozpin and giving a nod of greeting to the crowd. Why had Ozpin hired her of all people? More importantly, How had she been hired?

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

In a warehouse in the industrial district of Vale, a rather infamous thief known as Roman Torchwick just finished a phone call with his new 'boss'. A White Fang grunt wheeled over a large chest to him, which he placed some Lien on. The grunt promptly took the money and pocketed it.

"Open it."

"Yes Open it." A cultured voice said from behind them. "We're all dying to know what's inside."

Roman looked to see two men, one was a man he vaguely recognised. Arthur Watts a disgraced Atlesian Scientist, but the other, the one carrying a solid screen TV, him he didn't recognise.

"Well, well what is Arthur Watts doing down here the slums of Vale?" Roman asked lighting a cigar.

"My reputation precedes me, I am part of the same group Cinder Fall is, you know her right? the woman who has you running around Vale playing Fetch the Dust Crystals like a good little dog." Watts asked tauntingly as his partner placed the TV down on the ground.

"Oh, so there's a group of you?" Roman asked not rising to the bait.

"Indeed, Cinder is our newest member and as such is lowest on the totem pole as it were." Arthur explained "This man, is Tohru Adachi, he is something of…..a helper, but not a subordinate. As you can imagine Cinder probably does not want him near her plans, which is exactly why I've introduced you because I enjoy her misery, and seeing any part of plan fail would simply make my day."

"We both know that when that bitch is done with you she'll kill you," Adachi stated taking a seat on a nearby crate. "Stick with me, and I can guarantee you'll survive this thing longer than she wants you too."

"That's a pretty big guarantee, she scary powerful, and I'd rather not put all my eggs in one basket," Roman said.

"Watch," Adachi said with a sigh.

There a growl nearby and Roman jumped back upon seeing a large familiar figure floating the air, holding the white fang grunt by his throat so he couldn't scream or call for help. The figure floated over to the solid screen TV, Adachi gave the screen a tap with his knuckles, causing static to briefly appear on it despite it being unplugged. Then The figure pushed the grunt against the screen, which began to ripple like water.

It didn't take long before the hapless grunt was fully inside the TV. The red thing, retracting its arm having let go of its victim. The sight caused Roman to stop smoking.

"Now that is a pretty neat trick," Roman said after a few seconds. "You know I remember seeing something like that in a video that's been going around recently in the underworld, of the King of Emerald Forest being killed by something that looked like that except that one was a little less…bloody looking."

"He's Magatsu Izanagi," Adachi said snapping his fingers causing him to vanish in a swirl of reddish ethereal flames. "He's a Persona, and the thing with the TV was my semblance."

"And a Persona is…?"

"A power that I and a few others have," Adachi replied with a shrug. "The other one you saw on that video, Izanagi, belongs to a kid who was a major pain in my ass. This power is also why I'm stronger than Cinder bitch, help me out and we can both make our lives easier, whaddya say?"

"I get to live and my life become easier? Where do I sign up?" Roman asked with a smirk.

"First, I need you to get me a lot more TV's."

"And when our friend asks why I'm stealing dust?"

"I'll talk to her, she won't bother you, just get a few hundred and then I'll tell you what happens next," Adachi told him with a smirk.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 or RWBY they are the property of their respective owners, any resemblance to any other Persona 4 or RWBY fan fiction is coincidental and plagiarism is not intended. No flames please constructive criticism only.**

 **Important AN below please read.**

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

After waking up from their rest after the team assignments, all of the first-year students had been summoned by Glynda Goodwitch who was now giving them the orientation of Beacon Academy. Right now they were in the locker room, listening to her lecture.

"Each of you will be assigned one rocket-propelled locker to store your weapons and extra armour. Additionally, your locker can be sent to a custom location based on a six-digit code."

Seeing that no one was watching Cardin Winchester quickly grabbed onto Jaune who began pleading and shoved him into one of the lockers, he promptly entered a random code and sent it flying with his victim inside. Luckily for him, it seemed Professor Goodwitch didn't notice, or if she did she ignored it.

"What was the point of that?" A deep voice echoed from behind Cardin causing him and his team to jump and whirl around, only to see a huge Boar, easily the size of a truck with eerie orange coloured eyes and dark fur with orange and dark blue patterned lines going across the fur.

"Grimm!" Sky Lark shrieked causing the rest of the students to all panic and whirl around to see the large boar simply staring at them.

"Silence!" Glynda cutting off the panic before it could get out of hand. "It is not a Grimm, Mister Lark, note the lack of a bone mask. This is an intelligent construct, one brought forth by Professor Narukami's semblance, which requires frequent use to maintain efficiency, so expect to see more like them around the school. What are you here for?"

"I was exploring with Fenrir when I wandered in here and saw this one." The boar motioned to Cardin "Shove the blond one into a locker and launch it. I was curious as to what purpose such needless cruelty serves. You mortals cannot cease fighting for even a few minutes, even when surrounded on all sides by monsters that wish you dead, it is perplexing."

Cardin gulped as Professor Goodwitch glared at him. Luckily, however, he was temporarily saved as Ruby questioned the boar.

"So, do you have a name?" Ruby asked curiously.

"I do, though it was given to me by my current master." the boar responded.

"What does that mean?" Blake inquired.

"It means, that though I did the duty that the goddess Artemis bid me, I was not given a name, I was not honoured for punishing the city of Calydon as she wished, for the king forget to offer a sacrifice to her one year." The boar explained "As such I trampled fields, killed farmers destroyed vineyards and crops, forcing people to take refuge inside the city walls where they began to starve. I felt no malice towards those people, I was just doing as I was asked."

"So this goddess sent you to torment people just because they forget to make an offering to her one year?" Yang asked with exasperation "That's so petty."

"Indeed, the Olympians were rather famous for being petty, they brought much suffering onto the children of man for even such minor offences." The boar replied seeming to shrug. "Eventually I was slain by Meleager after Atalante wounded me and my pelt was taken. But even though I did my duty and brought suffering to the mortals I was given no honour, no constellation among the stars, I wasn't even given a name!" The boar sounded rather indignant. "Even that crab got a name and an image in the stars and all he did was pinch a heel and get stepped on."

"Well, you said you have a name now, so what is it?" Ruby asked.

"Calydon, after the very city I tormented, rather fitting do you not agree, short one?" the now named Calydon asked approaching Ruby who gained a rather angry look on her face.

"I'm not short I drink milk!" Ruby yelled indignantly.

"Clearly not enough of it," Calydon responded causing Ruby to puff her cheeks out angrily.

"Calydon!" Another voice yelled with annoyance causing everyone to jump.

Squeezing through the doorway was a large wolf with dark icy blue fur.

"Ah, there you are Fenrir." Calydon acknowledged.

"Is that a dog?" Blake asked suddenly backing off, as did a portion of the crowd.

"I am a wolf, not a dog!" Fenrir yelled indignantly "Why did you leave me behind you walking pile of bacon?"

"We were supposed to stick to together, I assumed you were still following me," Calydon replied

"I was distracted, the cafeteria is cooking meat, beef if I'm not mistaken," Fenrir stated licking his chops.

"You cannot eat any of it." Calydon pointed out.

"I know, but the smell was so good," Fenrir replied clearly still thinking about meat before shaking his head. "Anyway, you should stop boring people by talking about stories like an old man."

"At least I am not famous for 'eating' an old man."

"That 'old man' was king of Asgard!" Fenrir growled. "At least I was given a name!"

"Do wish to fight Fenrir?!" Calydon snorted his face into Fenrir's personal space.

"I will make pork chops out of you, you overgrown pig," Fenrir growled pushing his face against Calydons.

The air near Calydon began to heat up, while the ground near Fenrir began to frost over as the two glared into each other's eyes. However before a fight could break out a voice cut in.

"That's enough you two." Professor Narukami entered the door with an unamused look on his face. "Fenrir, enough."

"Aww." The wolf groaned before vanishing in a burst of blue flames leaving only Calydon.

"Care to explain Calydon?"

"We were walking about the school together when he got distracted by the smell of meat from the cafeteria, I did not notice and assumed he was still with when I walked in here and saw this one." Calydon motioned to Cardin "Shove the blonde one into a locker and send it flying."

"Professor Goodwitch, please go and retrieve Mr Arc, we will discuss this at the end of the day," Yu ordered her with a stern tone, causing her to nod go after the locker. "As for you, Team CRDL all you with have a weeks detention."

"What why all of us?!" Russel Thrush asked loudly.

"Because you failed to stop your leader from doing something stupid." Yu replied dismissively before looking at Pyrrha "And Ms Nikos, keep a better eye on your partner in the future."

"Ah, yes sir," Pyrrha replied quietly.

"Good, Team's RWBY and JNPR don't forget you have my remedial class last period." Yu snapped his fingers and Calydon also vanished before turning to leave again before pausing and turning to look at the whole crowd of students. "Oh, one last and if even one person leaves this room before Professor Goodwitch returns consider your whole team expelled, think I'm kidding? Test me and find out."

With that Yu left the room, his jacket billowing behind him as he did so.

"Sheesh, what a hardass," Yang grumbled.

"Give him a break Yang." Blake said, "He's not exactly in an easy position."

"Indeed," Weiss spoke up agreeing with Blake "He's our age and he's supposed to be Ozpin's successor, even having done something like killing the King of the Emerald Forest doesn't guarantee that he will have everyone's respect and if he can't even control a bunch of first years then why should the older years respect or listen to him or anyone else for that matter?"

"I see your point but still…."

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

After having the conclusion of the Orientation given by Professor Goodwitch, the first years had their first classes at Beacon. Grimm Studies with Professor Port, then history with Doctor Oobleck and finally Combat Class with professor Goodwitch. While the school day had ended for other students teams RWBY and JNPR made their way to the classroom indicated to them on their scrolls for their remedial classes, much to the silent amusement of other students. They now stood outside the door waiting to enter.

"This sucks," Yang complained having shaken her fist at Team CRDL who had snickered at both teams upon being reminded by Professor Goodwitch to go to their remedial class.

"We know Xiao Long." Weiss sighed "Let's just hurry up and get this over with, remedial, Winter will be so disappointed." Weiss mumbled the last part to herself.

A pair of buzzing noises caused Jaune and Ruby to withdraw their scrolls and open them.

"It's from Professor Narukami." Ruby said, "He says he's going to be late and to just go in and sit down."

"Only team leaders scrolls can unlock the door." Jaune continued reading off the message.

Ruby took a deep breath and moved forward, she waved her scroll in front of the electronic lock. The screen turned green and the slid open. Entering the room, the eight found it to be similar to Doctor Ooblecks classroom, except while most desks were empty there eight spots in the front row clearly marked by a piece of white paper on the desk before each seat. The room itself was rather sparse with no decorations of any sort making it look rather plain.

"I guess that's where we're meant to sit," Blake said cutting through the silence.

"Ooooh, what's that?" Nora Valkyrie's yelled curiously zipping over to the teacher's desk upon which sat a square base with four prongs holding up a white sphere about the size of a baseball.

"Nora no," Ren yelled at his friend and partner.

"I'm not gonna touch it, just see what it is," Nora reassured him leaning on the desk to get a closer look at the shining white sphere.

"It's just dust." Weiss scoffed folding her arms.

"I don't know," Ruby disagreed "This doesn't seem like any dust I've ever seen."

"She's right. It doesn't have the same shimmering sound that dust crystals usually give off." Pyrrha said joining them at the desk "It's also smaller than it looks, about the size of a marble, the bigger size is because of this shining light it's giving off."

Weiss became intrigued and approached the desk also, now all eight students stood in a semi-circle around the desk staring the oddity upon it. She got a closer look and raised an eyebrow.

"You're right, it's not dust, at least no any kind of dust I've ever seen." Weiss conceded. "So what is it?"

Before anyone could answer Ruby reached out to touch it.

"Ruby wait!" Yang's worried call came too late as Ruby's fingers made contact with it. As this happened the glow began to intensify forcing all of them to shield their eyes. Ren grabbed Nora and dragged her away. Waves of light began to emanate from the sphere before it became a single blinding light which forced everyone to shield their eyes.

When it died down, Nora and Ren were the first to open their eyes. Their teammates and friends who were closest to the sphere when it activated were now still like statues.

"Guys?" Nora called out to them causing them to unfreeze, lower their arms and open their eyes.

"So….that was a thing," Yang commented with a nervous laugh.

"It was just a lot of light," Weiss said without her normal confidence.

"Blake?" Yang looked to her partner who looked rather shaken.

"Don't you hear that?" Blake asked her partner with wide eyes.

"Hear what?"

"The whispering?" It was Jaune who spoke up looking as shaken as Blake.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha put her hand on her partners should a concerned look adorning her face.

Nora and Ren watched it happen, as if a wave had swept over the others they all suddenly had fearful expressions on their faces too, both looked at each other then back to the friends and teammates.

Blake gulped, a whispering was coming from inside her own head, at first it was tiny, imperceptible but it steadily got louder and louder until she realised it was her own voice talking to her.

' _The White Fang, you left them but still, you think about them. About Him._ ' It whispered maliciously ' _They make themselves look like monsters, they act like monsters, they can never go back to the way they were, Just like you!_ '

"Stop it." She whispered.

' _Liar, fraud, faker._ ' Jaune heard his own voice whisper to him. ' _You're nothing but a lazy good for nothing thief, you bought fake transcripts all so you could try to accomplish your dream._ ' The word was spat like it was something disgusting ' _You can't ever tell them the truth' It was referring to his team, Ren, Nora, his partner Pyrrha 'You know they'd never forgive you, never trust you and why should they? LIAR!_ '

"Shut up," Jaune mumbled covering his ears in a futile attempt to block the voice out.

' _How pathetic._ ' Weiss shivered, her own was speaking to her disdainfully. _'Winter would be so disappointed at your incompetence. You looked up to her, she was confident, strong, willful, everything you're not_ ' Her voice pointed out spitefully _'She joined the military to get away from Father's grasp and succeeded, but what did you do? You ran to the other side of the world to feel like you were free from him and how did it go? You came, you got in and you're not even your team's leader. Instead, your leader is a child. If you've studied and trained so hard Why weren't you chosen? Winter will be so disappointed that you weren't good enough!_ '

Weiss didn't speak up, instead choosing to wrap her arms herself, refusing to reply to the voice.

 _'Selfish'_ Yang shivered at the tone of her own voice which scoffed into her ear. ' _You don't care about anyone but yourself. When Summer died the first thing you tried to do was replace her and with who? A mother who abandoned you as soon as you were born? A mother who was never there, never baked cookies, never read you bedtime stories was never there when you had nightmares? And Why? All to make yourself feel better._ '

"Stop it, just shut up!" Yang yelled trying to block it out by covering her ears.

' _It wasn't about trying to make your family whole again, it was all about you and what you wanted, you wanted your mother and you were even willing to sacrifice your younger sister for it. You will always be nothing but an ungrateful kid!_ '

' _Invincible Girl._ ' Pyrrha gasped at the sound of her own voice speaking those hated words. ' _You've never had real friends. Anyone who talked to you always wanted something, your fame, your money, your power. Face it, when Jaune finally gets a clue he'll just be an adoring fan like all the others and it's on that pedestal you'll stay. For-EVER!_ '

Pyrrha began breathing heavier and heavier keeping any outbursts from breaking free.

' _You're just a child._ ' Ruby heard her own voice taunt her. ' _Ozpin let you in because he felt sorry for you. You can't make it as a huntress, you're not even ready to be a team leader. Face it Ozpin made a mistake putting you in charge of three others who are older than you, just like he made a mistake bringing letting you come to Beacon, Weiss doesn't even listen to you, why would she, she's clearly the better choice. You never be the leader this team needs!_ '

"That's enough." A voice yelled as a glass case slammed itself onto the base sealing the sphere away.

As the voices in their heads faded away the six looked to see Professor Narukami standing next to the desk his hand still atop the glass case.

They were shaken and for good reason.

"Professor, what was that?" Ren asked as he and Nora took their seats first, watching their teammates and friends with concern as they too sat down shakily.

"It is called the Orb of Sight, it has the power to repel fabrications of all sorts, dispels lies, and shine upon the truth. It also possesses the power to stimulate one's Shadow, which is what happened now." Yu held up the case which the orb rested on and brought it up to his face examining the orb which shone gently from within. Yu sighed setting the orb back down the desk and moving it behind himself as he sat upon the edge of the desk. "Please go to your seats and take a few moments to compose yourselves."

"Shadow?!" Yang said in a tone demanding an explanation

"They are dark reflections of certain parts of you, they could a hidden past, embarrassing truths or things one tries to forget and not acknowledge but they are essential parts of who people are and what one tries to bury," Yu explained.

"So they're like the Grimm?" Jaune asked,

"Yes and No, they are dark emotions built up and brought into existence, but they aren't soulless beings... they are you or the constructs of the consciousness of others."

He paused and let the information sink in for a moment before continuing.

"In this class, I will be teaching you to use Persona, a power better than Dust, beyond weapons, and greater than your semblances." Yu began explaining "A Persona is a mask used to whether the hardships of everyday life, I will help you awaken yours by having you face your Shadows."

"With respect sir, this all 'Persona' business sounds like nonsense." Weiss scoffed.

' _Nonsense are we?_ ' A deep voice echoed inside Yu's mind ' _Allow me to burn their scepticism._ '

The room suddenly became still, and then became hot, very very hot. The heat caused the air to begin rippling and all of the students began to sweat as a humanoid figure made of fire began to materialize just in front of Yu. He had burning orange eyes like flames. The top part of his head was covered by a strange mask-like crown which had a part of sharp metal horns extending from either side of it.

" **My flames created the stars in the heavens, I shattered the Bifrost, My flames incinerated the World Tree and the Nine Realms. I Am thou and Thou Art I, from the Sea of Souls I have come I Am Surtur, King of Muspelheim the Doom of Asgard** " Surtur declared proudly towering so high that his head almost reached the high ceiling.

He took a step forward causing the students to all flinch, however, he shrank as he did so. walking closer to them and getting smaller until finally, he was about seven feet tall. He leant close to Weiss and pressed his hand upon the desk in front of her even as she leaned back in the chair trying to keep away from him, even as she looked into his flaming yellow eyes fearfully.

"Tell me, little girl, do I seem like an illusion to you?" Surtur asked with an amused tone which indicated he was taking pleasure in her fear and awe.

He lifted his hand to reveal the small part of the desk have which had grown hot and begun smoking, had partly melted leaving a deep scorched handprint in it.

"Alright, Surtur that's enough." Reluctantly the King of the Fire giants acquiesced and backed off.

"E-even so he's just part of your Semblance," Weiss argued shaking her head.

Yu didn't respond verbally instead opening his scroll, pressing a few buttons then tossing it to her. She caught it and looked over the screen.

"No, that's impossible."

"What is?" Ruby asked as everyone leaned in to see what was on the screen.

On the screen was a single solid green bar.

"So his Aura is full what about it?" Yang asked.

"You dolt, even passive semblances need Aura to fuel them." Weiss snapped "Summoning semblances should take a huge chunk of aura just to summon, the more powerful the more aura it takes but, his aura is completely full."

"Ok, so this Persona thingy isn't your semblance then?" Ruby asked.

"Nope."

"Why all the secrecy?" Blake asked, "Why tell everyone that this is a remedial class?"

"Imagine what happen if I had to help just one kingdom by awakened the Persona's of their soldiers, like say Atlas for example."

"It would mean war," Pyrrha stated factually causing everyone to look at her.

"Correct." Yu nodded "A well-trained Persona user could decimate a small platoon. What would happen if one kingdom had an army of them?"

"They'd try and conquer the world," Weiss stated sadly knowing full well what her father and the elite of Atlas would do with such power.

"Precisely which is why what happens here must be kept a secret," Yu told them. "I won't be awakening your Persona's right away, first I'll teach you what you need to know about Shadows and Persona's when you're ready that's when we'll begin in earnest. I chose you eight because I believe you can be trusted to use this power for the right reasons."

The students all nodded and focused, ready to keep learning about this new subject.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

" _Good Evening everyone I am Lisa Lavender._ " The news anchor introduced herself. " _For those of you who aren't away the King of the Emerald Forest has been slain, this notorious Grimm has remained in the Emerald Forest for several decades proving a deadly challenge to any huntsman for dared to try their luck. But now after a successful S-class exam, it has been slain, a feat which has not been done since Professor Ozpin and his team years ago._ "

Lisa paused as footage of the battle with the legendary Grimm played on just next to Lisa's head, showing the battle between Albion and the King.

Watching this on TV a scruffy looking man with red eyes took a drink of the whiskey which sat on the bar in front of him.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

" _I bring you today an exclusive interview with the young man who slew the king and thus passed the S-class exam._ " Meanwhile, in the forests of Anima far from the city of Mistral, a pair of bandits were sitting in their camp watching this on a scroll.

A spotlight shone on a grey-haired young man had a relaxed yet serious expression on his face sitting a chair directly to Lisa's right.

"It's just some kid."

"He doesn't look so tough."

" _He's from a nomadic town called Inaba far outside the cities walls. His name is Yu Narukami._ "

"Give me that!" A voice demanded snatching the scroll from them. They turned to object remained silent when they saw it was their boss Raven Branwen. Her eyes in a hard scowl as she looked at the screen.

"Hey boss," Vernal spoke up when she too looked at the screen with wide eyes. "Isn't that-"

"It can't be…" Raven growled clutching the scroll tightly "He's dead! I killed him myself." After a few moments, Raven shoved the scroll into Vernal's hands and put on her Grimm mask, walking away from them.

"Where are you going?" Vernal inquired nervously of her leader's bad mood.

"To the ruins, I have to see for myself, take care of things while I'm gone."

"Got it." Vernal nodded as a literal Raven took the place of her boss and flew off into the sky at high speeds.

' _Ozpin, what the hell have you been up to?_ ' Raven thought to herself as she sped towards her destination

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

"Hello Lisa, it's a pleasure to be here," Yu said politely, bridging his hands as he settled into the chair.

"I hope you don't mind me asking but, your name, it doesn't correspond to any colour I'm aware of, why is that?" Lisa asked,

"Well, you see Inaba, the town I'm from is a nomadic town, we wandered from place to place for centuries, when the Great War came along we did our best to stay out of it," Yu replied, shifting as he did so. "We never took the colour naming rule because we knew Mantle's ideas were doomed from the start and as such never felt a need to name our children after colours, we felt this made us more unique than the rest of the world."

"I see, well next question what happened to Inaba?" Lisa inquired carefully.

Yu let out as sad a breath as he could manage.

"Well…. It was destroyed, as far as I am aware Margret and I are the only survivors."

"And who is Margret?"

"She was our villages archivist." Yu said "Her duty was to record and save, all our towns lore, myths, legends, stories, history as well as guard old relics. It's not an easy job, she not only had to preserve old books but transcribe those which were nearly unsalvageable, in addition, she had to memorise it all and be able to recall it all perfectly from memory. As you can imagine it is a truly monumental undertaking and not just anyone can do it."

"I see and you say she survived?"

"Yes, I was very surprised to see her when Ozpin announced that she was taking over Beacon's infirmary as the nurse."

"You say she was an archivist before, so now she's a nurse at Beacon?"

"Yes, she's got many talents, medical training is just one."

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

" _Ok, so moving on_ " Lisa cleared her throat and shifted in her seat. " _That sword is your weapon I presume, what is its name?_ "

" _Totsuka-no-Tsurugi,_ " Yu answered picking up said weapon and drawing it fully from its sheath and holding it up for the camera to see, the blade gleaming in the light. " _It roughly translates as Sword of Length of Ten Fists._ "

" _It looks amazing, even someone like myself can tell that its very well taken care of,_ " Lisa stated with awe.

" _It was one of the relics that Margaret guarded and kept maintained._ " Yu explained sheathing the sword " _For the relics which are weapons they can be given out if you pass a test, in my case, it was a combat test, and that was before I even unlocked my semblance. Margaret was no pushover that was for sure._ "

" _So it obviously doesn't transform?_ "

" _No, Ozpin keeps telling me I need a ranged option, I've just never got round to it._ " Yu chuckled good-naturedly.

In his office in Atlas Academy, in the kingdom and city of its namesake, James Ironwood sat at his desk watching the interview, with Specialist Winter Schnee standing off to his side. She was Jacques Schnee's eldest child. Her position as heiress to the SDC was revoked when she decided to join the military.

"Schnee." He called to her thoughtfully. "What was the report on the prototype from R&D?"

"They said it was nearly ready for field testing, it just needs an appropriate melee form." Winter replied dutifully.

"Well then, go and give tell them of that one." General Ironwood motioned to the sword which sat in its sheath leaning against Narukami's chair.

"That prototype sir?" Winter asked incredulously. "But giving to a foreign huntsman with no affiliation to Atlas, the council-"

"Will go for my idea, because as they so often like to remind me we are in a time of peace." Ironwood told her with scoff "Besides they will want a way for Atlas to toady up to him, what better way than giving him a weapon that he needs? Besides the ammunition is specialised and only Atlas can produce it, so the risk is minimized which should assuage any naysayers."

"Very well sir, I'll get right on it." Winter gave a firm salute and marched out of the room to carry out her orders.

When she was gone the general let out a sigh and bridged his hands. "Oz, just what are you planning?" He wondered, trying to discern his old friends' intentions on training a replacement.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

"Ok," Lisa cleared her throat again. "So how did you meet Professor Ozpin?"

"Well, after the town was destroyed I just sort of... wandered" Yu stated taking on a melancholy tone. "My aura had been awakened by my uncle a few years earlier and my semblance emerged during the Grimm attack."

Yu paused for a moment.

"I went from village to village, town to town trying to survive, using my semblance to ward off Grimm when one day I found myself surrounded by Beringels, I killed a lot of them but they just kept coming. Eventually, when I became exhausted I thought I was done for, that's when he came and saved me. He said I had potential and offered to train me properly."

Lisa sensed the mood and decided to change the subject.

"Well, how about your semblance, what is it exactly?" Lisa inquired "It has been compared the Schnee Family's own hereditary summoning Semblance. What can you tell us?"

"Well, my semblance is much more…. Animated." Yu said after finding the correct word he was looking for. "Than theirs. And unlike the Schnee's summons mine are based on myths and legends rather than defeated foes. The myths and legends in question are the Inaba archives, which is why outsi- I mean other people haven't heard about them before." Yu put the false slip up in for good measure and it seemed to work if Lisa's face when he made it was any indication.

"I see, what kind of myths and legends?" Lisa pushed.

"Well, they take the form of things like gods, demons, angels, devil, heroes, monsters and fairies to name a few."

"C-can you summon one?" Lisa asked after seeing a nod from the producer. "Not too big though."

"Of course." Yu considered summoning a human, most of the heroes volunteered, all wishing to proudly display themselves, gods and monsters were instantly out, he did not need one of them to create negativity on live TV for being offended, and monsters only knew how to destroy no matter how intelligent they may seem to be. Then he got the perfect volunteer, one that tended to be thought of as adorable by women and fortunately not big or really intimidating at all.

Yu concentrated and snapped his fingers. Out of a swirl of blue flames appeared a short pudgy snowman wearing a blue cap, blue boots and short nearly unnoticeable tail.

"Hee, nice to meet you Ho." Jack Frost greeted Lisa with a wave which she returned with a gobsmacked expression on her face.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

In her lair also watching the broadcast of the interview Salem rubbed her chin thoughtfully before contacting Watts through her scroll. He answered promptly.

"How can I be of service your grace?" he asked with a bow.

"Arthur, I want you to get into contact with your old associate Dr Merlot." She ordered, "I have a deal for him which I think he'll find most agreeable."

"As you wish."

"Before you go, persuade Mr Adachi to provoke Adam Taurus." Salem commanded, "He could serve useful as a test for Mr Narukami's powers."

"I'll get on it right away," Watts said before Salem ended the call.

She heard a creaking of wood and looked to Hazel as its source. His hands gripping the arms of his chair as he looked at the screen which showed the snowman freezing solid the water in a glass before setting it free as a glass shaped block of ice.

' _Look, Hazel, his name's Jack Frost. Isn't he cute?_ ' The memory of his sister's voice echoed through Hazel's mind igniting feelings of fury and anguish within him before Salem's voice brought him back to reality.

"Hazel, is something wrong?" She asked silencing any remark that Tyrian might have made with a glare.

"Nothing your grace," Hazel answered submissively. She clearly didn't believe him but chose not to press the matter turning her attention back to the interview.

"This is the power of the Wild Card, the power that can defeat even the gods. I must have it." Salem stated watching Jack Frost perform tricks with his power over ice. "This will require delicate planning, I will not tolerate failure in this matter, it takes priority even over the relics are we clear?"

"Yes My Queen" "Yes Your Grace." Both men replied obediently.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

As the interview continued the subjects changed, from information about Jack Frost and his other personas to Yu's feelings about being the youngest headmaster ever, a bit about his training with Ozpin. Until finally the subject was about Yu's duties at Beacon.

" _Well, now that I officially have my licence, the council plans to slowly delegate more responsibility to me, to help me get acclimated to that they've delegated a budget to me so I can hire a secretary slash personal assistant to help me with my duties._ " Yu stated, " _I'll be conducting the interview personally so that I can get used to any interviews with new staff members in the future._ "

Adam Taurus who sat watching it in a White Fang hideout muted the interview and began making a call on his scroll.

"What is it?" The voice on the other end sounded frustrated.

"Is something wrong High Leader Khan?" Adam asked with concern.

"Our Atlas Chapter is gone!" She yelled through the scroll angrily.

"Gone? But How?!"

Sienna Khan took a deep breath before explaining. "We sent an assassin to the Schnee manor, in hopes of killing the youngest, but instead of accomplishing his mission, the assassin went back to the Brotherhoods headquarters, and somehow managed to get the leader of the Atlas chapter to turn himself into General Ironwood!" She growled furiously. "He gave up everything. Names, Faces, associates, both legitimate and otherwise. everyone was arrested before we even knew what hit us. The only reason I know is because one of our brothers got off a warning before he got captured in one of the raids."

"That doesn't make any sense, brother Tenne was one of the most dedicated to the cause!" Adam pounded his fist on a coffee table in front of him causing the wood to crack. "His parents were murdered by Atlesian humans, so why?!"

"Brainwashing," Sienna said after a few moments.

"What?" Adam sounded incredulous, despite Tenne's loyalty brainwashing sounded rather far-fetched.

"The SDC must have employed someone with a brainwashing or mind control Semblance." She said with frustration "It's the only thing I can think of to explain this."

Adam cursed, it certainly explained it but did such semblances really exist?

"They are extremely rare, but they do exist," Sienna stated as if reading his mind. "I want you to start moving, find new safehouses and hideouts, abandon all of the current ones as a precaution get it done as soon as possible. I've already begun moving our mistral headquarters to a new location, it won't take long for the kingdom to begin moving on what little information Ironwood can provide them from the Atlas Chapter based on our patterns and methods."

"Understood, I'll get started right away."

"Good, now what was it you called for?"

"I need an operative for a sensitive infiltration mission."

Sienna Khan sighed and massaged the temples on her forehead.

"I can only spare Ilia from Menagerie, our more experienced operatives are tied up at the moment," Sienna told him looked down from the screen.

"Ilia will be fine, in fact, she's probably perfect," Adam replied.

"When Atlas goes public, morale across the entire brotherhood will take a severe hit. Not to mention it will take us years to rebuild in Atlas, Faunus there will be doing their best to keep their heads down regardless of their conditions." Sienna looked back at the screen. "Keep your head down and don't take any unnecessary risks."

"Very well High Leader."

"By the way, what's the nature of this mission?" She asked narrowing her eyes,

"I need a pair of eyes and ears in Beacon Academy, and an opportunity just opened up," Adam replied glancing at the interview still playing on the screen.

"Very well but be careful, we're going to be more cautious for now until the heat dies down, so it will take a couple of weeks to get Ilia into Vale safely."

"Understood, that's all."

"Very well, out." With that, the transmission ended.

A few seconds ticked by, Adams breathing getting heavier and heavier before he let out a furious roar and lifted up the coffee table, smashing it against the wall which he proceeded to punch causing cracks with every blow.

"Man, what a drag huh? All your buddies locked up in cages like animals up in Atlas." The voice snapped him out of his fury, he whirled around to see Adachi, the human Cinder Fall had introduced sitting on the sofa next to where he had previously sat. Adam hadn't even heard him come in. "Animals do belong in cages but even I wouldn't put 'em in freezing cold cages, but hey that's what they get for being a bunch of dumbasses who-who make noises at their betters."

Adam's rage took hold and he lunged at Adachi, only to be stopped by a large blood red and black figure. Magastu Izanagi gripped Adams' arm and twisted it behind him before slamming him to the floor and pinning him at Adachi's feet.

"Idiots like you are so annoying." Adachi sighed putting the barrel of his gun to Adam's forehead, he was forced to look at Adachi by Magatsu Izanagi. "Face it, either you need to be a man and take control of things or you should just be a good little animal and accept your place in the world. It would be so much easier that way."

"Never!" Adam yelled struggling to break free only to have his head slammed into the ground by Magatsu Izanagi"I'll take what I deserve and I'll kill any human who tries to stop me!"

"Take what you deserve?" Adachi cackled gripping his head as he did so, eventually, he stopped laughing and continued to speak down to Adam who kept struggling to no avail "You're already on Cinder's chain, a humans chain. I'd call you her pet but you aren't even that. You. Are. Her. Bitch" Adam roared and tried to break free, only for the Persona flip him over and drive a fist into his gut with such force that Adam coughed up blood.

Adachi simply watched the pathetic sight and sighed before finally, Adam recovered enough to pay attention again. He was forced by Magatsu Izanagi, blood dribbling from his mouth.

"Sienna Khan keeps you in a cage where you belong and Cinder keeps you on a nice little chain to be tugged at her leisure." Adachi got closer to Adam until his lips were next to his ear. "And as long as you're in that cage, as long as you're on that chain, you can't do anything, you can't change anything. Face it, you're doomed to watch the same thing that happened to you repeat itself on your animal pals over and over and over again until the day you die."

Adam trembled with fury for a few moments before letting out a primal roar, he tried desperately to break free but could not, The Persona was simply too strong. Adachi stood up and walked towards the door which suddenly burst open with a group of White Fang grunts who had heard the commotion and had come to see the problem.

"Adam, what's wrong?" That was all one of them as able to say as Adachi pointed his revolver at the group.

"Maragidyne," Adachi whispered just loud enough for Adam to hear as he pulled the trigger.

When it happened a large fireball erupted out of the barrel, burning them all alive, their screams of fear and pain echoing in Adams' ears, causing him to freeze up in horror as their charred bodies all hit the floor. The smell of burnt flesh filling his nostrils.

"Uggh, and here was me thinking cooked animals smelt better," Adachi complained waving his hand around his nose trying to waft away the smell. "Maybe they need seasoning, welp, see ya next time moron."

Adam watch helplessly as the vile human walked out of the room, the door had been blown off its hinges by the attack and sent flying, scorch marks burnt into the walls around the door frame. Adachi leapt down the from the railing and out of sight. Eventually, Adam felt himself be released as the creature holding him simply vanished. Adam ran to give chase, but his prey was nowhere to be found. His fury simply grew more and more as the human's words echoed in his mind. He looked at his dead and flash fried subordinates and his fury erupted he began throwing and destroying anything in range, one of the things destroyed while throwing things about was a solid screen TV below which was smashed to pieces by a crate of dust which had been tossed around in his rage.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

 **AN: Ok so I need help, I have no idea what Yu's Semblance should be, but I have a few ideas, so can you please go to my profile, read my ideas and vote on the Poll? It would be a massive help. It will close January 1** **st** **. If you guys have some better Semblance suggestions then please PM them to me, you'll have to be specific though, thank you.  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 or RWBY they are the property of their respective owners, any resemblance to any other Persona 4 or RWBY fan fiction is coincidental and plagiarism is not intended. No flames please constructive criticism only.**

 **AN: Finally, I got it done, I hope you all had an awesome new year. The winner of the Poll was Mythical Weapon Transmutation. Thank you for voting everybody. This helps a whole lot.**

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

The class had ended and Yu had was going to go back to his room, but instead found himself walking to the infirmary. After some more explanation and some demonstration of low-level skills such as Agi and Bufu, he'd let RWBY and JNPR go.

" _Those, kids, they aren't ready._ " Chiron sighed, walking on Yu's right side.

They passed a courtyard where the dying afternoon sunlight was shining through the columns he passing by. Some students were hanging out together, they were a second-year team if he was correct. It seems that the team system really did work judging by how well they seemed to be getting along.

" _Neither were we when all of us started out going through that TV in Junes._ " Cu Chulainn pointed out, appearing on his left and walking along.

" _Maybe, but these kids, they've been training to fight alone, and that's the problem._ " Chiron sighed as they reached the infirmary.

The door and its frame were a rather familiar velvet colour. Pushing the door open, the infirmary seemed to have the same colour for its walls and ceiling. It seems that Margaret had quickly made this place familiar to herself. From what he was told Margaret would use healing skills to treat patients, which would be explained as a very rare healing semblance, hence why she was hired so quickly.

The inside of the infirmary itself was a sterile white colour one would expect of such a place. However, just behind the divider which separated the beds from the small office space which belonged to the one in charge, Yu could see a bit of velvet coloured paint peeking up over the top on the divider. Walking closer he could see that the space was very well ordered, though he could tell the paint was new. It seemed Margaret had quickly made herself at home here.

"Welcome to the infirmary." She greeted him from the small chair which sat at the desk. "You don't seem to be injured, is there another reason for your visit?"

Instead of speaking he let Cu Chulainn and Chiron voice his conflicted thoughts. Margaret listened and when both were done she spoke.

"To awaken their Persona's quickly and teach them to use them, or to wait until they are ready. Quite the conundrum." Margret said, her hands laying on a rather thick book with the same velvet colour on its covers, which Yu had failed to notice before. "Personally I would council patience. Your students have been training to fight since they were young, but Persona is not a weapon or a toy if you wish to mould your students into people who will use this power for the right reasons, then wait and let their bonds grow. You will know when they are ready."

"But then, what do I teach them in the meantime?" Yu asked.

"Here take this." Margaret handed him the book she had on the desk, it was surprisingly heavier than he thought it would be. "This book has been meticulously penned by the residents of the Velvet Room since our very first guest many ages ago. It does not contain a record of journeys, but rather information regarding, the Arcana, shadows, gods, demons, Persona's, magic, the mechanics of the Universe and the World. Amongst other details that I think will be useful to you. I took it as I was absconding from the Velvet Room. You may borrow it and use it as teaching material in the meantime."

Yu felt the weight of the book in his hands and examined the blank cover of the book.

"Remnant is a static world trapped in twilight." Margaret continued. "and as long as this remains true, then Remnant and its people have no future."

"Then, everything these people do is meaningless? There's no hope?!"

"Meaning can be found and hope given," Margret replied. "As long as wheels of time do not forward, then Remnant will continue to repeat its cycles over and over until its star dies. As long as there is no future, however, humanity cannot go extinct, but nor can it prosper. To give this world its future is for these people to face extinction or prosperity with no going back."

She went silent, Yu could tell she was done and thus he left. Now he was even more confused. A world of twilight with no future? What did that mean? And more importantly, what did this all have to do with his students?

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

About a week passed, using the book Yu was able to teach RWBY and JNPR more about the power of Persona without getting to the subject of awakening. He focused mostly on teaching about the Shadows and the Arcana. How all Persona's and people had an Arcana that was Associated with them. He'd also missed Ruby and Weiss reconciling, apparently, Weiss had accepted Ruby as Team leader, which was progress.

"I meant to do this during our first lesson, but I kind of forgot," Yu said spreading out the Tarot cards upon his desk, the Orb of Truth shining from within its case nearby. "Each of you are going to pick a card, the one you pick will be the Arcana you are associated with. Knowing this will help me get a better grasp of each of you, so I know how I can help you when the time comes." Yu explained cutting off the impending question from Weiss.

He then walked over to the desk and set a pair of cards in front of Ruby and Yang. The Star and The Sun respectively.

"You two already chose yours. For Ruby the Star which commonly associated with hope, self-confidence, faith, altruism, luck, generosity, peace and joy." Yu explained, "Usually people under this Arcana usually embody these traits in one way or another. However, it can mean a lack of faith, despair or otherwise discouragement about something." He turned to Yang. "And the Sun typically symbolizes happiness, joy, energy, optimism, and accomplishment. People under this Arcana sometimes find themselves in bad situations but are still pretty optimistic despite that. On the other hand, it can mean temporary depression or a lack of success, it can also mean that they are being too positive about a situation and might need a reality check."

That got a snort out of her partner causing Yang to playfully nudge her.

"So, whose first?"

"I'll go." Blake volunteered, clearly wishing to get this over with.

She stood and walked to the desk where the cards were laid out.

"Close your eyes and take a deep breath." Blake did so. "Concentrate, don't be hasty, let the Arcana call out to you."

Blake waited for a few seconds before, she thought she heard a chiming, like a small bell. Then it chimed again only this time she thought she saw, vibrations in the darkness. She led her hand over to where it seemed to be coming from and felt the card beneath her fingers. She opened her eyes and picked it up, showing it to her teacher.

"The Priestess," Yu told her. "This Arcana is a symbol of hidden knowledge or other untapped power, wisdom, female mystery and patience when it appears in tarot readings. Individuals associated with the Priestess Arcana are usually quiet, reserved, hardworking, and very intelligent."

"Sounds about right," Yang commented causing Blake to smirk just a little bit.

"Reversed it can also mean Secrets, Information withheld, or a Lack of personal harmony." Blake felt nervous, but was able to control the look on her face, she narrowed her eyes at the professor just slightly. Did he know? What would she do? What- "Ok, take the card with you and sit down."

She robotically did so as Pyrrha volunteered to be next. The Champion repeated what Blake had done and picked a card and showed it to Yu who in turn revealed it to the class.

"The Chariot, this arcana is a symbol of victory, conquest, self-assertion, self-confidence, control, war and command." He explained. "People who are of the Chariot Arcana are typically very driven individuals, who have a personal goal that they aim to achieve at any cost. Reversed it typically symbolises Scattered energy, Lack of direction or Self-doubt."

Pyrrha gave a polite bow and walked back to her seat.

"Ok, who's-" "Me me me!" Nora yelled enthusiastically zipping past Pyrrha and to his desk, interrupting Weiss who was about to volunteer.

The hyperactive girl shut her eyes but did peek a tiny bit before choosing a card and excitedly showing it to him.

"Strength, this Arcana is associated with the morality about the stronger power of self-control, gentleness, courage and virtue over brute force. A common trait of people under Strength is their strength of heart. Reversed it can be associated with Inner strength, self-doubt, low energy or raw emotion."

Nora bounced up a down a few times before zipping back to her seat to show Ren her card. He decided at her urging to be the next to volunteer if only to sate his friend and partner. Silently he closed his eyes and focused before choosing a card and revealing it.

"The Fortune Arcana, this one symbolizes fate, luck, fortune and opportunity. Individuals under this arcana are usually people who attempt to seize their own destiny in spite of fate and are typically involved with making important choices and decisions in response to what life throws at them. Reversed it can be associated with, Mishaps, Disappointment, Unforeseen setbacks, Bad luck or just plain Misfortune."

Ren looked at the card for a few seconds before giving a polite nod and returning to join Nora who quickly snatched his card form him and placed both of their cards together babbling something to him.

"I guess I'll go next," Jaune said standing up and nervously approaching the desk. "Alright, close your eyes, deep breaths." He mumbled the words over and over like a mantra as he followed the instructions, eventually, he picked out a card and opened his eyes.

"The Hanged Man, this arcana is associated with self-sacrifice for the sake of enlightenment, the bindings that makes one free. Those under the Hanged Man are sometimes self-sacrificial but are more often notable for being caught between two different extremes, parties or stages in life." Yu explained as Jaune examined the card "Reversed it can mean Missing an opportunity, an Inability to change or Egotism."

Jaune said nothing but nodded and returned to his seat, with Weiss now walking up the desk. Just like the others she closed her eyes and concentrated before choosing a card which she revealed.

"The Moon, it's typically is associated with creativity, inspiration, dreams, madness, illusions, fear, fantasy, the subconscious, and trickery. Those who are under this Arcana have a tendency to project of their own fears and faults onto others." This caused Weiss to huff with annoyance. "Reversed it can be associated with Unusual dreams, Mysteries unveiled, Unhappiness, Release of fear and Insomnia."

Weiss rather annoyed chose to go back to her seat, avoiding Ruby's attempt to consolingly hug her.

"So teach, what's yours?" Yang asked with interest as she leaned back in her chair.

Yu opened his mouth to answer only to be cut off by a small chiming and a vibrating from inside his jacket pocket. He withdrew his scroll and saw that Professor Goodwitch was calling. He held up a single finger and answered.

"Professor Goodwitch, is there something you need?" he asked putting on his stern teacher voice.

"Your lesson time is just about up correct?" She asked causing him to look at the time on his scroll and saw that indeed there were only five minutes left, the time had certainly gone fast.

"Yes, what do you need?"

"Can you end early and bring Ms Xiao Long to headmasters office, something rather important concerning her has come up."

"We're on our way," Yu said ending the call.

"Yang! It's only been a week what did you do?" Ruby asked with a sigh.

"Nothing I swear!" She said holding her hands up defensively, only to receive a disbelieving stare from her sister.

"Well, one way to find out, Class dismissed. Come on Yang." Everyone stood up and began to file out of the room, with a sigh Yang hung back to follow Yu.

As the two made their way to the elevator which would take them to Ozpin's office, students parted ways for them, some of them whispering to each other as Yu and Yang walked past. She kept her cool however until they got into the elevator and doors closed, as Yu pressed the button to take them up to the headmaster's office.

Once there Yang audibly gulped and Yu knew why, as sitting on a chair next to an empty one opposite a seated Ozpin and a standing Glynda was her father. Taiyang Xiao Long looking worried.

"Oh Yang, what did you do?" He asked with a sigh.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

In their dorm, RWB waited for their teammates return, but none more so than Ruby who was rapidly moving from one spot to another, looking from the clock to the door over and over again.

"Ruby, you need to relax, Yang will be back soon."

"But-" The door opening interrupted Ruby as Yang came in and sat on Blake's bed. "Yang!" Ruby zipped over to her sister but stopped short upon seeing the sullen look on her face. "A-are you ok?"

"No, not really."

"Do you want us to leave?" Weiss asked slowly.

"No, you should hear this as well, we are a team after all." Yang sighed. "Ruby do you remember the night club incident a while back, you know when you were stopping Torchwicks robbery?"

"The one you trashed?" Ruby asked

"You trashed a nightclub?" Weiss asked with a harsher tone.

"Yes, I was looking for someone," Yang replied defensively. "Anyway, the owner decided to get even, initially he just leaked the story to the press hoping to ruin my rep as a huntress and make things more difficult for me in the future, but that story wasn't front page like he wanted."

"Professor Narukami was in the news for a while, so any other stories would have been deemed less important," Blake stated.

"Yeah, so if Junior had been able to do that-"

"Wait, as in Hei Xiong Junior? The information Broker?" Blake cut in.

"You've heard of this person?" Weiss asked.

"Anyone who's been in Vale for a decent amount of time has, he can get any information or the right price and its always good." Blake explained, "But he always gets even if you cross him."

"He sounds like a criminal," Weiss said.

"He is, but he's useful to everyone, the cops the council and everyone else so no one tries anything." Blake replied, "And there's technically no proof that he's ever done anything illegal."

"Apparently, he used to be huntsman here at Beacon, his team and our mom's team were on a mission to protect some douchebag politician from some assassins and he and mom had to get rough to get him to safety. When all was said and done the asshole used his power to try and ruin Summer and Hei, so Ozpin was forced to chose as he could only protect one so he chose Mom. Junior got expelled and blacklisted and being an orphan, he had nowhere to go. And because our parent's team was favoured by Ozpin, Junior felt bitter. And this is his revenge. If I get expelled, I'll be blacklisted just he was, and our family will have to pay the bills for the damages to Junior's place and the medical bills for him and his men. It's only because Ozpin agreed to take on the bill that I'm still here."

"Wait, what's the blacklist?" Ruby asked.

"The blacklist is where the put the names of huntsman and huntresses who've gone too far." Blake explained "For people like us who are still training getting put there means we can't ever get our licences and become full-fledged huntresses. But for people with their licences, getting put on the blacklist basically makes you criminal, you can't take missions or get paid, the only thing you can do is try to find another career."

"Is there anything you can do?" Ruby asked quietly.

"I gotta keep my nose clean. One more big screw and up that's it." Yang told her sadly.

"Well… this happened because of your temper, maybe you should try and learn to control it?" Weiss suggested.

"Weiss!" Ruby snapped at her partner.

"What? It was just a suggestion."

"No she's right and that's why I've agreed to go to Professor Narukami who offered to help me out in my free time."

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Wandering through Vale Taiyang was on a mission. To talk to the one person who could resolve this. Eventually got to the building but was stopped by a guy wearing a suit. Inside he could hear the noise of construction going on.

"Sorry, we're closed for renovations." The man told him.

"I just need to talk to Junior," Taiyang told him.

"Junior ain't seeing anybody today." The guard replied with a shrug.

"Please, I'm an old friend just tell him it's Taiyang Xiao Long." Taiyang pleaded.

The guard and but relented, pulling out his scroll and called Junior. After a few seconds, he got an answer.

"What is it?"

"Boss there's some guy here to you, says his name is Taiyang Xiao Long?"

"Send to my office," Junior replied after a few seconds of silence.

The guard pushed open the door, revealing builders everywhere, drilling and sawing and hammering, to try and rebuild the place.

"His office is up the stairs in the back." Taiyang nodded thanks at the man before making his way inside.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

When he entered the office the first thing Taiyang noticed was that he could no longer hear the construction work being done only meters away on the main floor of the nightclub.

"Hello, Taiyang." He focused and spotted Junior sitting behind a wooden oak desk. The room itself was sparse with two pictures hanging on the walls, one of a Junior and pair of young twin girls wearing red and white themed clothes respectively standing outside the club and the other of his old team, Team BRRX(Bordeaux) consisting of Junior himself, Roman Torchwick, Bartholomew Oobleck and Hazel Rainart.

Taiyang couldn't but feel sad. STRQ and BRRX were close friends, at least they were before Junior was expelled. About a couple of years after that Roman dropped out and started his life of crime. Only Hazel and Bart stayed until the end.

"You ain't here to reminisce, Tai." Juniors voice cut through his musings and brought him back to the present. "So what do you want?"

"I'm just here to talk."

"If it's about your daughter then forget it." Junior said, "Way I see it, I'm doing you a favour."

"By nearly ruining her life?!"

"By teaching her to control herself when she doesn't get what she wants." Junior snapped. "Something you should've taught her years ago. Too much of you and Raven in her, there was a reason her mother got so much detention when she kept doing what she wanted."

"Raven is-"

"Dangerous, which is why I lied about knowing who she was to your daughter. You should do something about her wanting answers soon, after didn't she almost get Ruby killed looking for answers?"

"That was on Patch how did you-"

"Nothing happens in this kingdom without me knowing," Junior told him, flicking through things on his scroll. "Who do you think sent the message to Qrow, when my boys saw your daughter leaving the house with her sister in a wagon?"

"You did that? Th-"

"Save it, you know I can't even take a self-defence class, because of that damn blacklist" Junior complained. "Do you how humiliating it is to get your ass handed to you by a kid?!"

"Hei I-" but once again Junior cut Taiyang off.

"With this sword hanging over her head, she'll learn self-control, better to learn it now rather than later after she loses something permanent because of it." Junior looked straight at Taiyang fixing him with a stare. "You need to get a grip, best to tell her about Raven now than she finds out the hard way what her mother's really like."

The blond could only a sigh. Hei was right of course. He'd spent too much time wallowing in his grief over Summer that he'd neglected his daughters. The thing that really mattered now. They were already at Beacon and only a few years away from going out into the world and into the dangers that lurked out there. Speaking of which.

"Hei, have you heard from Hazel recently.?" Taiyang asked carefully.

"No, I haven't heard from him since Gretchen's funeral years ago, and he hasn't been back to Vale since then," Hei replied with annoyance. "Not that it's any of your business, I seem to recall none of you attended, too busy running off playing fetch for Ozpin. Even Roman was there, in disguise albeit, but he attended."

"You know we would've been there if we could but-"

"We didn't expect Raven, no expected Raven. But Summer not appearing, now that was a shock. Guess it just does to show how far up Ozpin's ass you all were."

"Hei, I can't tell what we were doing for Ozpin but you have to believe me when I say it was important, for everyone's sake!" Taiyang argued pleadingly.

"Yeah, whatever. Don't let the door hit you on the way out." Junior said with a dismissive snort as he returned to looking at whatever it was on his scroll.

Seeing that Junior wouldn't budge Taiyang sadly left the club. But he made plans. As soon as the break came, he'd talk to Yang, and he'd tell her the truth about Raven. She deserved to know and it was time he started being a real father again.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

In the land of darkness, Salem sat in her throne, watching through the open window as Hazel, finished breaking down large the monstrosity she had been creating, thus allowing it to return to its base elements.

"Something on your mind Arthur?" Salem asked of the disgraced scientist.

"Well, it just seems like such a waste, your grace." Arthur stated "You poured so much time and resources into creating it and now you are destroying it. Might I ask why?"

"There are many giant beasts of the Grimm." Salem told him "I feel now as though I need to fight fire with fire, warriors with warriors." With that, she withdrew a blood red crystal ball and placed it on the table before her.

Leaning in close Watts looked at the crystal orb and saw something, swimming around inside it. He thought he saw a face of some sort form and look at him before it became a black mist again.

"What is that?" Watts asked intrigued.

"It is a shadow provided by Nyarlothep, a very specific person's shadow." Salem replied, "If the Wild Card gains power from bonds, then why can I not use bonds to my advantage also?"

Suddenly a black aura surrounded the orb and it floated up and zipped off through the window. It flew through the air before coming to a stop just above a pool just to Hazels left, and then it dropped, sinking in like a stone. Suddenly the pool began bubbling like heated water.

"This will be my greatest creation, I will use these bonds, to destroy everything Ozpin has built." Suddenly the bubbling stopped, and a hand broke the surface of the pool grasping at the barren rock at the edge.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 or RWBY they are the property of their respective owners, any resemblance to any other Persona 4 or RWBY fan fiction is coincidental and plagiarism is not intended. No flames please constructive criticism only.**

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

After a couple of weeks, Yu finally had summoned Yang to her first anger management session. It had taken so long because frankly, he had no idea what to do. But now he had a solution and as such when classes had ended they both were in his classroom alone. Well not entirely.

"So teach, what are we gonna do and who is this?" Yang asked curiously motioning to the man standing next to Yu with his arms crossed and serious expression on his face.

"This is Chiron, he'll be helping you learn to control your temper," Yu told her motioning to the legendary teacher.

"Uh is he a…" Yang fumbled nervous about to how to ask her question.

"I am a Persona yes," Chiron told her surprising her.

"Wait you're a Persona?" Yang asked with surprise in her voice. "I was gonna ask if you were a Faunus, you have a tail." She pointed to the large bundle of hair that did indeed poke out just above his rear end.

Both he and Yu looked at each other for a moment in confusion neither too sure about the answer.

"Well, I suppose technically I am." Chiron relented with a shrug, he was a centaur, after all, just one that had taken a more human form, he then cleared his throat. "Anyway, back on subject, I will teach to control your temper to the best my ability. You should be rather simple to teach compared to Heracles and Achilles."

"Er….who and who?" Yang didn't recognise either name.

"They were ancient heroes, both Demi-gods powerful in their own right," Chiron explained.

"When you say Demi-gods you mean…"

"They both had one mortal parent and one parent who was a god or goddess in Achilles case," Chiron explained

"So gods and goddesses really exist?" Yang asked shocked.

"Indeed and they are not merely Personas," Chiron affirmed but cut Yang off before she could speak further. "But I doubt they are as you are envisioning them. They tend to petty, childish and rather easily offended. But enough about them thinking about the gods and why they do and don't do things will only give you a headache."

The Gods also didn't like being criticised, as evidenced by the grumblings and vague threats directed at Chiron that Yu could hear coming from within the Sea of Souls from deities not limited to the Olympian Pantheon.

"Now then, the first step is to see just how bad you have it," Chiron mumbled walking over to Yang and making a subtle motion or Yu to step back which he did as he had an idea of what the famous hero teacher was about to do.

Chiron got right into Yang's face invading her personal space causing her to lean back as he seemed to examine her face closely.

"What is it? Is there something on my-OW!" She suddenly cried out as a sharp pain came from her head.

Chiron quickly leapt backwards creating a decently sized gap between them. Yang rubbed her head instinctively before looking at Chiron who had a single strand of blond hair between his fingers which he casually let go of and float down to the floor.

To those who know Yang Xiao Long, the reaction she had to this was predictable. Her eyes become red and her hair gained a fiery glow which flared up even more as she screamed enraged "MY HAIR!"

She leapt at Chiron, a fist ready to put him through a wall. However as soon as she closed in Chiron sidestepped the punch, grabbed the outstretched arm twisted it around her back and pinned her face first into the floor. She struggled with a strength that would throw any other men off, but Chiron was not just any man. As such she couldn't break free.

"Now do you see?" Chiron asked her sharply causing her to stop and her hair to return to normal. "What if I was an enemy fighting Ruby and yourself, what if you had to protect her, right now I could easily wound you then finish her off. If you don't learn to control your anger you will fail your sister when she needs you the most, do you understand?"

"I-I just…." Yang sniffled tears born maybe or sadness or frustration welled up in her eyes.

Chiron's expression softened and he released her, aiding her to her feet. Yang wiped her eyes on her sleeve and looked at Chiron with a sad and frustrated expression on her face.

"What am I supposed to do?" She asked shakily.

"You listen and allow me teach you." Chiron answered sighing heavily. "Let me tell you a bit about Heracles. You remind of him in some ways. He had a short temper as well. But he was also a demi-god, the son of a god and mortal. In his case he was the son of Zeus the king of the gods. Who was married at the time."

"Wait, so Zeus cheated on his wife?" Yang asked shocked.

"Yup, he's king of the gods so there was literally nothing his wife Hera could do to him about it."

"Could she just divorce him?"

"No, I'm afraid Hera was the goddess of marriage, motherhood, women, and familial love, so while getting divorced might embarrass Zeus she stood to lose much more, a goddess of marriage getting divorced is a contradiction, it would have damaged her divine authority which is devastating for a god. But while she couldn't get back at Zeus directly for his infidelity she could take her frustration out on Heracles."

"But it's not his fault!" Yang objected.

"Indeed, but Hera was always jealous and cruel. The first thing she did was send snakes to kill him as a new-born, but he strangled them with his bare hands, he was very strong even then." Chiron said closing his eyes and remembering those times. "His feud with Hera defined his whole life. He often had problems controlling his temper and great strength. He would be punished by being made a slave for a number of years or exiled from the city, but he always willingly submitted to punishment when he did something wrong. Eventually he got married and had children, then Hera struck she drove him mad and in the throws of that madness, he killed his wife and children."

Yang gasped, horrified at hearing this and more than a little angry with Hera.

"When he came too, he was horrified by what he'd done and went to the Oracle of Delphi hoping to find some way to atone for his sins. Of course, Hera directed the Oracle to have him become the slave of a king who hated him. The king set him ten tasks which would be impossible for a normal human being. The same king decided that two of them didn't count because Heracles had help completing them, so he had to do two more hence 'The Twelve Labours of Heracles' they would consume the rest of his life but when he died he was welcomed among the gods."

"Well, that's a good ending for him right?" Yang asked looking at Chiron who shrugged in return.

"I suppose, he did become venerated as the god of strength, heroes, mortals and children." Chiron crossed his arms. He'd given a real TL;DR version of Heracles life, much to the annoyance of Zeus who let it known with rumbles of thunder in the back of Yu's mind, as for Heracles himself he remained silent. "You have potential in spades. I'm only really here to help you control your temper, but I think you could be much more than a girl with anger issues. So if you do as a say and progress with your anger management I'll teach you to fight properly rather than relying on your semblance all the time."

"What's wrong with using my Semblance whenever everyone else uses theirs?" Yang asked exasperatedly.

"The problem with yours is that when that strength boost you get runs out you are left tired and weakened. Out in the real world, your opponents won't stop fighting when your aura is low, they will take advantage of your opening and try to kill you." Chiron replied bluntly. "So onto your anger. I want you to do some basic meditation exercises when in the shower. Do you remember how you felt when I took your hair?"

Yang nodded.

"Well, focus on that feeling breath in through your nose then out through mouth imagine that anger going with it understand?"

"Yeah, sounds easy enough."

"From now on all of your showers must be cold water only?"

"What cold but why!?" She yelled completely upset.

"Hey, Ruby." Yang turned to see Yu had called up Ruby on his scroll.

" _Hey professor, what do you need?_ " she asked brightly.

"As part of her anger management, Yang's only allowed to have cold water showers. Teachers orders." Yu informed the young leader much to Yang's horror.

" _Okie doke!_ " Ruby gave a salute.

"NOO!" Yang screamed fearfully and leapt at Yu trying to grab scroll only for him to dodge and keep it outreach.

" _Hey guys good news, Yang won't be using all the hot water anymore!_ " Ruby exclaimed as the call ended.

Yang herself dropped to the floor with a dismayed look on her face.

"But…my hair." She whined with the kind of tone you'd expect from a child who just got their favourite toy taken away before looking up at Chiron. "For how long?"

"The whole four years if that's what it takes," Chiron replied unsympathetically. "So the sooner you progress with your meditations the sooner you get your hot water back."

"You're evil." Yang glared at Chiron

"I'm a teacher." He stated simply.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Eventually, when yang got back to her dorm the sun had gone down and night had fallen. Her team was perfectly fine with her using the shower first. Weiss who was opening a large box of dust with the SDC logo it reminded her to use cold water only, which Yang replied with a one-fingered salute, knowing that swearing would only result in Ruby forcing her to put Lien in the swear jar as she so often did to Uncle Qrow, Dad and herself back home.

Ruby meanwhile was on her bunk bed reading a comic while Blake was not present, apparently, the library had not closed yet and she wanted to read in private.

"So why do you need another big box of dust?" Ruby asked without looking away from her comic. "You had so much on our first day in all those bags."

"That was weeks ago," Weiss replied finally pulling the lid off and set it to the side before reaching in and examining a few vials. "Besides, apparently father has decided I need to learn to not be so wasteful so this is my dust for the next few months until the Vytal Festival. Anything else I have to buy with my allowance which is also being reduced, to 'learn the value of a lien'" Weiss huffed with annoyance as she put the vials back in and began to rummage for others to examine.

"That…sucks?" Ruby said unsure of what to say in this situation.

"But it's strange," Weiss said

"What is?" Ruby asked turning the page.

"The way my father is acting is strange," Weiss told her. "Cutting down my allowance would be normal, but not this quickly, when it comes to internal things like this unless he needs to my father likes to take his time and try to crush his opponent slowly unless it's more profitable to do it quickly. Add to that the fact that he's giving Faunus labourers equal pay."

"but isn't that a good thing?"

"Yes, but my father is a miser in every sense of the word. The only things he cares about nearly as much are his reputation and his legacy. Giving Faunus workers equal pay is something he'd never do unless he really had no choice, he's even used his power, money and influence to prevent Atlesian lawmakers from pushing laws to that effect."

"Maybe he's had a change of heart?" Ruby suggested with an unsure tone.

"No way," Weiss replied quickly. "He's one of the most selfish and greedy people on the planet. The moon is more likely to suddenly turn into a giant cookie than my father is to willingly become charitable and caring." Weiss face scrunched up in annoyance as she tried to find what she was looking for and reached deeper into the crate, her face turning to the side. "Now where is-" she gasped as she felt something grab her, she tried to pull free but it was no use.

Then suddenly it happened. Dust vials suddenly flew everywhere as a figure erupted from the crate. Weiss got out a small startled noise before its hands quickly grabbed her throat and lifted her up into the air. Even as she began to choke Weiss tried to break free but her aura enhanced hits did nothing as this thing seemed not to flinch.

Ruby was startled by the noise of dust vials clinking as they went everywhere but thankfully didn't explode. One or two pelted her. The young prodigy looked in disbelief as some green human looking thing was half out of the crate. She could only see it from behind but could see it had a jester-like cap on its head with bells on the end. It looked like a demented jack-in-the-box, Ruby hated those as Yang scared her with one when she was younger. Seeing it attacking her partner she sprang into action.

"Let go of her!" Ruby cried as she quickly leapt the thing and rammed it sending it flying out of the box and crashing into a wall where it slid down the floor. "Weiss are you ok?"

"I…it came….out of….the crate." She wheezed out coughing to trying to get her breath back. "What is that?" She asked looking at something in her leaders' hand.

Ruby looked realised she was holding some grey thing and turned it around and squeaked in surprise. "Ah, it's face!" She promptly dropped it scooted away.

"It's not a face you dolt it's a mask, a drama mask," Weiss told her about the grey mask with a wide smile on it.

"Ah, it doesn't have a face!" Ruby yelled fearfully causing to look at the thing and see that indeed, underneath where the mask had been there was no face. No eyes, no ears no nose no mouth, nothing. So how was it able to see anything?

Quick as lightning it was up and charging again. This time its foot ploughed into Ruby flipping her onto the ground and pinning her by the throat with its toeless foot, its hands once again firmly around Weiss's neck.

Unable to get free Ruby did the only things she could. With all her breath she screamed for her big sister.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

After turning on the shower, Yang had been reluctant to get into the blasting cascade of cold water. However, she knew this wouldn't end unless she did it so slowly she got in, letting out a deep breath as the cold water make contact with her. After she washed herself and her hair (albeit not as well as she would have liked) she sat down and began breathing exercises. She tried to recapture the feeling of anger she had when Chiron pulled out her hair and imagined that feeling being expelled when she breathed out.

Yang had no idea how long she had to keep doing this but she imagined a few seconds was not enough, so she kept doing it. A loud bang and some muffled yell from the bedroom disturbed her, but because of the loud shower, she couldn't hear it properly, so she ignored it and went back to her meditation.

Breath in, and out.

In and Out.

Another bang came this time, but quieter. Yang was going to ignore it except it was accompanied by a scream, one she had not heard for years.

"YANG!" Hearing her sister screaming for help broke her out of her mediation.

Coldwater turned to steam as her hair ignited and she charged out of the shower. Bursting through the door, she saw this green person with his foot Ruby's throat. Needing to see more she hit him with all her strength and sent him flying through the door and smashing into the wall beside Team JNPR's door where it slid to the floor seemingly defeated.

Seeing it not getting up Yang moved to check on her sister. Not noticing the twitching of its fingers.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Having little better do that evening Yu had wandered around the campus, just looking around. Eventually, he ran into Blake who was returning to her dorm after a binge reading session in the library and he decided to walk her back to her dorm.

He had tried to talk to her but she was a tough nut to crack. Getting her to open up was harder than Naoki and Shu combined. To her credit, she did answer but her answers were usually short responses, never more than a single sentence. It would take patience but he had that in spades. Plus it was amusing how some of his questions got a twitch from her bow. Blake wasn't nearly as slick as she thought she was.

As they approached the dorm Yu opened his mouth to ask another question only to be interrupted as the door was thrown open and something flew out of it and crashed against the wall just left of Team JNPR's door. Blake widened her eyes and ran to the door to check on her team, while JNPR all poked their heads out to see just what had impacted on their wall.

"Holy cow." Jaune breathed looking out and seeing the thing.

"Look Renny it's an alien!" Nora exclaimed before gasping. "A faceless alien!"

"Nora-" Ren was cut off as the creature suddenly stood up pushing itself upright.

Getting a good look Yu could see that it was green and indeed where its face should be was completely devoid of features. On its head was a jester's cap with bells on it. Reflexively Yu found his hand move to the hilt of his sword.

"Are you alright?" Blake asked with worry as she dashed into the room.

"I think so, that thing was trying to kill Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed.

That was all Yu needed and so casting a Sukukaja to give himself a speed boost he dashed to the doorway. Blocking the thing from getting past him as it tried to go back in. With a quick slash, he sliced off its outstretched right arm which fell to the ground by its feet. A fountain of green liquid erupted from the wound spraying all of the walls and some of it on Yu's clothing, and upon JNPR's faces.

"Ugh!" they all cried out disgusted.

The creature, however, let out no cries of pain. In fact, it didn't flinch at all. Acting as if having an appendage removed was no big deal. It made no sounds of anger nor cries of pain.

" _Does it not feel pain?_ " Sekhmet the Egyptian goddess of war wondered.

" _Even the Grimm feel pain._ " Thoth pointed out. " _But this creature displays neither pain nor agitation and makes no vocal sounds mayhaps having no mouth or nose it does not need to breathe?"_

The creature abruptly stomped on the appendage with great force causing a sickening 'splutch' like sound. Suddenly both leg and severed changed into a moving bulbous mass of flesh which travelled up the leg towards the area where the arm had once been. Before anyone knew it a knew arm quickly grew and replaced the old one.

"That's disgusting" Nora and unbeknownst her, Mara said together utterly disgusted by the sight and sound they had just witnessed.

It retaliated and swung a fist at Yu who managed to dodge just in time. Its fist crashed into the wall outside RWBY's room and loudly crashed through it creating a huge hole in the wall. Eventually, it stopped and tore its arm from the wall. Turning to face Yu once again.

" _It's super strong and can regenerate all without Aura or a Persona I call hax!_ " Pixie grumbled.

" _The yellow spot on its chest, stab there!_ " A scholarly voiced Persona yelled quickly.

Now that he looked Yu could see it. A small yellow spot in the middle of its green chest. Wasting no time he dashed at the being and rammed his sword through the spot where it made contact with something. The enemy went still like a statue.

Looking over its shoulder, Yu could see a clear reddish stone impaled on the blade of his sword. Suddenly the stone melted into a red puddle which dripped rather quickly off his sword and onto the floor into a puddle. The creature itself simply collapsed, sliding off his sword and onto the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Suddenly Yu jumped back as steam erupted from the body the body and it appeared to be melting as a growing greenish-whitish puddle began growing beneath it.

Out of a swirl of blue flames, a man appeared. He was wearing a traditional white-tailed lab coat with unique modifications. The coat possesses a raised collar that descends down the coat as a large v-cut and black epaulettes on its shoulders. Under the coat, the man wore what appears to be a dark blue turtleneck sweater with a burgundy choker and harness. On his feet instead of a pair of shoes were a pair of knee-high metal boots reminiscent of those found on the armours of knights.

He had long greyish-blue hair that he lets fell loosely over his right shoulder and brown eyes. He quickly ran over to the creature.

"Damn, it's dissolving." He said kneeling down and beginning to examine it. "I need to work quickly. Go check on the students, I'll report what I can later."

Yu nodded and let the Persona do his work, he paused and looked down the hallway and saw students all looking to see what the commotion was and could hear whispers of speculation.

"Back into your dorms right now!" he commanded using his harshest teacher voice, giving a glare for added effect.

It worked and they all quickly retreated back into their rooms, but he could tell a few were peeking through the cracks of their doors. With that done Yu entered team RWBY's room. Both Blake and Yang were standing next to Weiss and Ruby. The former rubbing her neck which had bruising on it.

"Are you all ok, what happened here?" he asked quickly.

"That thing popped out of Weiss's dust crate and tried to kill her," Ruby told him motioning to the rather large crate with the SDC logo on it, which had a lot of dust vials scattered around it and the room. "I got it off her but it got back up and went after her again, it knocked me down too. Then Yang managed to punch it away."

"It didn't seem to have aura when I fought it," Yu commented. "What about you Yang?"

"No, I didn't see it's aura appear when I punched it," Yang answered having covered herself with a blanket while still fussing over Ruby.

"So I think it's safe to say that it was super strong even without aura." Yu speculated looking at the large hole in the wall of team RWBY's dorm. "In any case, please escort your teammates to the infirmary to get a check-up from Margaret, Professor Goodwitch will be there to take a statement from you. I'll talk to Professor Ozpin and I promise we'll have some answers for you in the morning ok?"

They looked like they wanted to object but ultimately ended up accepting his reasoning and nodded. Carefully Blake escorted her teammates out while Yu left Yang to get dressed. The Persona was still examining the nearly gone remains and was examining the red puddle which used to be that clear stone.

Yu picked up his scroll to call ahead to Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch, with luck neither had gone to sleep just yet.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

When he arrived at Ozpin's office he found the man sipping coffee and staring out of the window overlooking the school. His cane held in his other hand. Shortly after entering the office Yu felt the Persona from earlier return to the Sea of Souls. Now all they needed to do was wait for- A ding came from the elevator and Professor Goodwitch emerged from it, a stern look on her face.

"Ms Schnee and Ms Rose are fine." She reported diligently. "It appears that they both only received some light bruising around the neck."

"I see, and where did this creature come from?" Ozpin inquired sipping his coffee.

"They both say it emerged from Ms Schnee's dust crate. It's rather large and was apparently sent due to difficulties between Ms Schnee and her father."

"SDC security is rather tight when it comes to dust or luggage meant for higher-ups in the SDC or the Schnee family itself," Ozpin stated. "Only few would even know who the crates were meant for, which means someone higher up in the SDC who had the information deliberately put that creature in there."

"But do we know what exactly it was?" Glynda inquired. "It can't have been a grimm, they die off in captivity, one would never survive the journey from Atlas to Vale."

"I believe I can answer that." The Persona from earlier state materialising between them all. "My name is Paracelsus von Hohenheim, I am a Physician and Alchemist."

"Alchemist?" Glynda sounded confused. "What is an alchemist?"

"Alchemy is or rather was a science of transmuting one substance into another, or at least those were the basics of it," Ozpin explained. "The knowledge died out after it was discovered that you couldn't transmute other substances into dust which on Remnant is more valuable than gold." He saw the look that Paracelsus and Yu were giving him and continued. "Ah, yes I forgot to mention, Glynda is quite aware that you are from another world."

"Well, that makes this less awkward," Paracelsus commented with a relieved tone, he pushed up his glasses and began his explanation. "My examination of the creature before it totally dissolved, lead me to one conclusion. That creature was without a doubt a Homunculus. An artificial being created through advanced Alchemy. Whoever created it has to be an Alchemist."

"What makes you so sure?" Glynda asked.

"Because the homunculus, possess no vital organs at all," Paracelsus replied pushing his glasses up his nose again. "No heart, no liver, no kidneys, no brain, no lungs and no respiratory system all. In fact, its 'blood' was a mixture of modified Chlorophyll and other forms of plant matter, which appeared to be designed to convert any and all light into energy. As for its skeletal structure that was none existent. In place of bones, it had a gel-like substance that seemed to be quite durable yet elastic, which I imagine was a how it was able to fit beneath the false bottom hidden in the dust crate."

"If it had no brain, then how was it able to move or do anything?" Glynda asked with disbelief.

"That part is due to the incomplete Philosophers stone it had as its core," Paracelsus answered his tone becoming very serious. "The Philosophers stone is what all Alchemists seek, it is a substance that is key in creating the Elixir of Life which according to legend can cure any disease and grant the drinker eternal life and youth. Can transmute any metal into pure and gold and finally, be used to create a homunculus."

"So someone was able to create this stone to make this creature?"

"Incomplete," Paracelsus emphasised. "An Incomplete Philosophers stone is rather simple to make if you know how but making into a _true_ philosophers stone is much more difficult and take years, decades even to complete properly. These incomplete stones seem to act not only as a rudimentary brain but also as the core which also regulates energy and animates the homunculus. As I said they are easy to make but are quite fragile if damaged too much they melt back into their component elements."

"One other thing, it was strong." Yu chimed in. "As in, strong enough to make a hole in walls designed to take blows from angry huntsman and huntresses in training. So if it was that strong why did strangle Weiss rather than simply breaking her neck being done with it?"

Ozpin looked thoughtful, and 'hmm' before speaking. "You say it dissolved after death?"

"Yes." Paracelsus confirmed "And the liquid it dissolved into quickly evaporated the only things that were left where the jester cap and the mask it wore. It seems the creator didn't want anyone examining it and coming to conclusions, fortunately, they never counted on me being there. One thing I will say is that whoever created it was a genius."

Ozpin was about to say something but was interrupted by a loud beeping and an icon appearing above his desk with a sealed envelope on it. He touched it and opened a message which he quickly read through.

"It seems." He closed the message and looked at them. "That we'll be getting some answers soon. The SDC is sending someone to try and explain what happened. A doctor, who they claim created it."

"If it was created by the SDC then why did it try to kill their heiress?" Glynda asked. "And more importantly why hasn't Jacques fired the man?"

These questions lingered in the air. But all they could do was wait for the doctor to arrive tomorrow to get their answers.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 or RWBY they are the property of their respective owners, any resemblance to any other Persona 4 or RWBY fan fiction is coincidental and plagiarism is not intended. No flames please constructive criticism only.**

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Yu yawned as he looked out of the window of the staff room at the rising morning sun. He didn't have a class with RWBY or JNPR today, he decided to give both a break even though JNPR hadn't been involved with last nights incident. Ozpin had told him that the SDC Doctor responsible for creating the Homunculus from last night would arrive soon as such he'd gotten up and made himself ready. He understood Ozpin would talk to him first and then Yu would wait and escort him to Team RWBY's room so that he could personally speak to Weiss.

"Good morning lad." Professor Port greeted Yu as he drank some coffee and took a seat in the corner reading a book with one free hand. "Ozpin has informed me of this Doctor's visit so I know Team RWBY might be late to class, he informed me that the doctor would speak to him first and then you will escort him to Team RWBY's dorm where he will speak with them in private while everyone else is getting ready to go to class."

Yu couldn't say his time at Beacon hadn't been interesting so far. Last night he'd discovered that several of his more demonic Persona's: Gremory, Sitri, Murmur, Raum amongst others under the Lesser Key of Solomon had been planning to bribe Incubus and Succubus to use their powers to get them into the students dreams in order to mess with them. He'd put a stop to that quickly.

' _We weren't gonna hurt 'em._ ' Raum insisted.

' _Indeed, maybe a deal, a few nightmares a trauma or two._ ' Gremory listed off casually and utterly unapologetically. ' _And they'd have been ripe for possession and a bit for a bit of a joy ride nothing harmful._ '

Hence why none of the demons were allowed to roam unsupervised by any Persona other than one with holy affiliations, such as Buddha's Saints or Angels.

' _It would have worked if Incubus hadn't snitched._ ' Murmur grumbled Yu could see him crossing his arms huffily in his mind's eye.

' _Hey, I'm in the dog house as it is I don't need help getting into more trouble from you assholes._ ' Incubus defended himself.

"Is your scroll buzzing?" Peter asked curiously.

Yu felt vibrating in his pocket and withdrew his scroll. Indeed, he had received a message. It was from Ozpin. It said that the Doctor had already arrived and he was nearly done speaking with himself and Glynda.

' _And they didn't tell us? Why weren't we in that meeting we fought the damn thing!'_ Gaap complained.

He did think it was strange that Ozpin hadn't invited him to the staff meeting but ultimately he'd get an explanation along with Team RWBY so it was fine.

" _Still annoying though,_ " Bael grumbled.

Yu stood up and after rubbing his eyes left the staffroom to head to the elevator which leads to Ozpins office.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

The Hallways were mostly empty still as there were at least ten more minutes before classes started. Some students had already eaten breakfast and were either on their way back to their dorms to spend their free time leisurely and relax before classes or going to their classroom in order not to be late, mostly these students had classes on the other side of the school.

Yu noticed that many students gave him nervous looks. He suppressed the urge to try and be friendly as this was what he needed in order to teach here. He couldn't afford for students to think they could take advantage of them. He'd have liked to be a teacher that could be friendly and approachable but that just wasn't possible in this situation.

On his way, he came across a girl with black carrying a backpack. She had black hair with lighter streaks and mint green eyes. Her hair was done up in a twin tail hairstyle with white bows. She was wearing the Beacon uniform but she was quite short, even more so than Ruby.

The girl didn't say anything but smiled and waved at him as she walked past him. He shrugged and gave her a polite nod as he rounded a corner. Eventually, he came to the lobby where the elevator to Ozpins office lay.

There sitting on a bench was a boy who looked to be around Ruby's age. He had white hair and light blue eyes and a fair complexion. His hair was mostly pushed to left, although he did have a cowlick. The boy was fairly tall with a slender build. His attire consisted of a short-sleeved white dress shirt, the sleeves fastened just above his elbows by navy blue cuffs, each with twin gold buttons. Over his untucked shirt, he wears a light blue vest, with a black handkerchief in his right breast pocket. He also wore a black necktie, navy blue trousers and black dress shoes.

Yu wondered if he was a visitor and so introduced himself.

"Hello, I'm Yu Narukami are you waiting for someone?"

"Ah, yes. My name is Whitley Schnee I came with the Doctor to visit my sister after I heard what happened." Whitley introduced himself politely extending his hand which Yu took and shook. "They're talking about you in Atlas you know, the young new hotshot due to take over the most prestigious Huntsmen academy in the world. I imagine when I get back I'll be bombarded with 'requests' to know what kind of person you are, most likely so they have some idea as to how to toady up to you."

"I apologise for that," Yu said coming and taking a seat next to Whitley, his more friendly aspects starting to come out. "Schnee, you said, are you related to Weiss?"

"Yes, she's my older sister. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of me. Weiss has prodigious singing talents and the fact that she was made heiress after our eldest sister joined the military meant that father put the limelight on her. I've been kept in the background just in case, to keep me away from any controversy they might cause." Whitley replied with an indifferent tone before changing the subject. "So how is Weiss, how bad were her injuries?"

"Not too bad thankfully, minor neck injuries, even so, the head of our infirmary Margaret has a healing semblance so Weiss was fine," Yu assured him.

"Ah, that's good. Thank Goodness" Whitley stated with a smile. "We may not have always gotten along but she is still my sister."

Whitley was interesting, he was guarded, even more so than Ozpin and Yu was having a difficult time getting a feel for his personality and thus was unsure what to say. Naoki, Marie, Ai they had been difficult to try and talk to but not as difficult as this. Yu couldn't help but feel a sense of thrill, revelling in the challenge of trying to get to know this boy.

However before Yu could say anything else the elevator doors opened and out of it stepped a man wearing a lab coat, black trousers and a pair of black shoes. He had wild greying hair and eyes concealed behind a pair of thick round glasses.

"Ah, you are the new headmaster-to-be Professor Narukami Correct?" The man asked in a rather deep and unsettling voice. "I am Doctor Ferdinand, the creator of the being you fought and defeated last night."

"Well, I'll show you to Weiss's dormitory, her team will be present, is that ok?"

"It's perfectly fine." The doctor chuckled. "As long as they remain silent on this issue, the SDC did plan to announce the existence of these beings as a rival to the Atlesian Knights and Paladins."

Yu stood up as did Whitley and he leads the two down the hallways to the dormitory.

"Sadly this incident has a caused a delay, as such we've had to push the public release back a few months."

' _This guy's got real priorities doesn't he?._ ' Cu Chulainn commented

"Well, it is for the best, better safe than sorry after all." Whitley piped up.

"Indeed, especially considering we are trying to create a new form of security against the White Fang." Doctor Ferdinand agreed. "The White Fang might be gone in Atlas for now but they still remain in the other kingdoms, plus there is no doubt that they'll be back. None of them can let go of their hatred of the Schnee family they don't care about equality they just want war and blood."

Turning a corner Yu could see the girl from before walking out of Team RWBYs dorm with Ruby just behind her talking to her about something. As they got closer Yu thought he heard a thump from behind him but dismissed it in favour of what was going on with RWBY and this girl.

"…and that's where the Combat Class is," Ruby said to the girl who nodded to her.

"Hello Ruby, what's going on?" Yu asked.

"Oh Professor, this girl is a Haven student, but apparently her team pranked her," Ruby said. "They told her she needed to come here early and wearing a Beacon uniform to get a dorm for their team."

"Well that is a lie, I'm afraid the guest dorms for the other school's teams don't open up until just before we break up," Yu explained. "I'm afraid we can't accommodate you, so you'll have to back to Haven, would like me to contact the headmaster for you?"

The girl simply shook her head.

"Well I apologise but I need you to get going now ok?"

The girl simply smiled, nodded her head, then adjusted her backpack and walked off with a wave.

"Bye Mint, see you at the festival!" Ruby called after her.

"Ruby we're here to speak to Weiss about last night," Yu said

"Oh right, er… Weiss do you want us to leave?" Ruby asked her partner.

"No it's fine, now let them in."

"Oh right hehe…sorry, come in." Ruby said quickly stepping aside so all three could enter.

As he entered the dorm Yu raised an eyebrow at the sight of the unstable and hastily made bunk beds.

"Bunk beds, I do recall you wanting to have bunk beds with Winter isn't that correct sister?" Whitley asked which caused Weiss to look over at the boy in shock from her seat on her bed.

"Whitley! What are you doing here?" Weiss demanded shooting him a glare before hiding it or trying too at least.

"I heard what happened and decided to come along, its only natural to worry when one's sibling is harmed isn't it?" Whitley asked with a smile that seemed to make Weiss angrier.

Before it could go any further the Doctor spoke up, closing the door behind him.

"Greetings Ms Schnee I am Doctor Ferdinand Augustus Universalis Sanguinis Trismegistus." The Doctor introduced himself with a bow. "I was hired by your father to create the being that sadly attacked you last night."

"That's a mouthful," Yang commented received an elbow to the side from her sister. Ferdinand for his part merely chuckled.

"Indeed, my grandparents on both sides all wished to contribute to my naming, hence the 'mouthful' just call me Doctor or Ferdinand if you prefer." The Doctor answered good-naturedly. "Might I have your names?"

"I'm Ruby Rose." Ruby introduced herself.

"Yang Xiao Long." Yang greeted cheerfully.

"Blake Belladonna," Blake said formally.

"Belladonna? Very exotic." Whitley commented Yu thought he saw Blake flinch but dismissed it. "Well, I am Whitley Schnee, Weiss's younger brother."

"Wow, I didn't realise you had a brother Weiss, how come you never mentioned it?" Ruby asked her partner.

"Because I had hoped not to have too," Weiss said grumpily.

"Please, allow me to offer my deepest apologies for this situation," Ferdinand said clearing his throat. "I'm afraid the blame lies partially with me."

"You? How?" Weiss asked suspiciously.

"You see while I was working on this project I required an assistant, he was a young man who was a faunus."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Blake asked sharply her eyes narrowed.

"It's actually quite important. At first, when I hired him he was quite useful, he caught onto small mistakes I made in the creation of the 'Mannequin Warriors' as I named them. He helped to smooth out the edges so to speak as well as helping remind me of the small details I tended to forget." Ferdinand explained. "However, after news broke that the White Fang chapter in Atlas had been destroyed he became quite jumpy, I dismissed it as nerves as the project was very close to completion."

"That was probably my doing," Whitley stated brushing down his jacket. "At the time an Assassin from the White Fang broke in and tried to kill me, however I was able to talk him down, luckily it seems they sent an amateur with a family of his own so his conscience forced him to stop and I was able to convince him to turn himself in to General Ironwood where he apparently helped to take down the rest of White Fang in Atlas."

"Oh please." Weiss scoffed in disbelief. "You expect us to believe that you talked a White Fang assassin into turning himself and his fellows in?"

"You can't blame me for trying." Whitley shrugged with a small smile. "Nevertheless the fact that the Assassin helped take down the White Fang in Atlas is a fact."

"Soo, these mannequins." Yang cut in trying to get back to the original subject. "What are they exactly."

"I'm glad you asked." Doctor Ferdinand said taking off his glasses and withdrawing a handkerchief and using it to clean them. "They are genetically engineered life forms that I created at the behest of Mr Schnee. They are designed to be superior to the Atlesian Knights and Paladins in every way and unlike those limited machines they are capable of fighting Huntsman class opponents on somewhat even ground. They are strong, agile, can regenerate. They need not eat, sleep or drink. They only require a certain amount of light a day, it need not even be natural light."

"And what about the assistant?" Blake inquired staring at the doctor.

"He was stopped before he could sabotage any more soldiers but just in case the entire batch was destroyed." Ferdinand replied, "He was taken into custody and is currently being…. 'questioned' by the Atlesian Military."

"Well, at least something good came out of this." Weiss grouched, Yu thought he saw Blake's bow twitch but focused as the doctor was talking again.

"The whole batch of Mannequin soldiers has been destroyed, per your father's orders this is just in case he managed to sabotage anymore." The doctor stopped cleaning his glasses and examined them, he frowned then continued cleaning them more vigorously.

"Wait, he didn't just cancel the project?" Weiss asked surprised.

"He is quite invested this project, making the soldiers is rather cheap, especially compared to the price we must pay the Atlesian military to use their machines for security. I believe the plan is to market them as superior cheap security and undercut the Atlesian Military and make a tidy profit. Loaning out their Knights is a global source of revenue for the military and Master Jacques intends to compete."

"It's about money. That figures." Weiss snorted shaking her head.

"Speaking of money, this is for you sister," Whitley said holding out a business card.

"Café Lima?" Weiss read out the card. "What is this for?"

"Father as you probably know has cut your allowance down, but I think you underestimate by how much, as such he asked me to give you this, the restaurant is run by an 'acquaintance of his. Show this card you will be given a job as a waitress."

"A waitress!" She screeched causing her team to flinch. "Why would I-"

"To learn the value of a lien." Whitley cut in. "Father has also decided not to give you any more free dust, you must now buy your own dust to fuel your desire of becoming a huntress. You had to know that father would retaliate he hates being defied, look at Winter, for Oum's sake he didn't hesitate to disown her."

There was silence in the room for a moment. Yu saw Ruby flinch before averting her gaze to himself. Then, without warning Weiss leapt at Whitley and tackled him through the door where they both spilt out into the hallway.

Weiss began punching Whitley hitting mostly at his face which he tried to shield using his arms. It continued for a few seconds before Yang snapped out of it and quickly grabbed Weiss pulling her off of her brother.

"Hey chill out Ice Queen!" Weiss seemed to ignore this and kept flailing, trying to get at her brother but was unable to break free from Yang's grip.

Yu got in between her and her brother and yelled with his sternest voice. "Weiss Enough!"

This seemed to do the trick, she looked up, blinked and then looked around confused.

"Wha-whats going on? Let go of me!"

"Not until you calm down Ice Queen."

"Are you ok?" Yu asked helping Whitley to his feet.

"I'm alright, I suppose I did take things a bit far." Whitley acquiesced with one hand on covering his eye.

"Do you want to go to the infirmary, Margaret has a healing semblance."

"No I'm alright, the bruise should heal up quickly, I don't think she hit me that hard," Whitley replied with a shrug. "I should go, I can see where I'm not wanted. Doctor are you finished?"

"Indeed I am," Ferdinand confirmed. "There is nothing further of relevance to discuss."

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you all," Whitley said giving a bow. "I should go."

With that Whitley quickly left, the doctor trailing behind him. Weiss meanwhile still seemed confused and upset.

"Alright, the rest of you keep getting ready for class, \Ms Schnee you'll come with me. Now!" Yu said sternly before looking at the gathered crowd. "What are you all doing here, to class NOW!"

The whole crowd jumped and immediately began scattering. Yang warily released her teammate who followed Yu down the hallway looking rather miserable.

"Before that, might I have a moment of your time, Ms Rose?" The voice made the other three jump.

Standing there in the corner of the room leaning against the wall was a tall, gaunt figure made even gaunter and taller by his long grey travelling-cloak and close-fitting cloth cap. His hair was black. He had heavy tufted brows a thin hawk-like nose and steady grey eyes.

"I am Sherlock Holmes, a consulting detective, and I was wondering if I might ask a question or two." The tall man requested politely.

"You're a persona aren't you?" Ruby realised after a few seconds.

"Indeed, I am here because I couldn't help but notice a few things," Sherlock stated. "You see from within the Sea of Souls his senses are our senses too and thus here I am."

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Out near the landing pads, Whitley walked up to a young man who was concealed from view behind a pillar.

"So do you have it?" Whitley asked.

"Yup right here." He was shown a recording on a scroll, the video was of Weiss viciously attacking him.

"Excellent, and there no other versions from any other perspectives?"

"No, my team made sure that no one else was able to record it. About our deal-"

"Worry not, I am a man of my word as promised your ill mother's medical expenses, past and future shall be taken care of," Whitley replied idly rubbing his sleeves before taking the scroll. "I assume you've wiped your details and other data save for the recording."

"Yup."

"Good, here for you and your team." Whitley withdrew four golden Lien cards and handed them over to the other person who's eyes widened, they'd never seen this much Lien in their life.

Whitley took the scroll and continued watching the video before stopping it and turning the scroll of before pocketing it. He then began making his way back to his personal Bullhead where the Doctor was waiting for him.

"Oh, just one more thing." He paused. "I don't have to tell you what will happen should any copies find their way into the public domain do I?"

"N-no of course not, it won't happen I promise."

"Excellent, then our business is concluded, enjoy yourself, Mr Winchester." With that Whitley boarded his bullhead which closed behind him and began to take off.

As soon as he was gone Cardin's teammates gathered around him, looking awe at the Lien cards.

"That's a lot of Lien." Dove breathed looking in Awe at the lien cards.

"So you seriously haven't got a copy of that video?" Sky asked.

"Of course I haven't you idiot" Cardin snapped "I'm not stupid, I ain't gonna cross the SDC or that kid. Besides with all this, we'll be living like kings for a good while. Come on boys we should get to class, but tonight dinners on me, I heard of a fancy new place where the food is great."

"We got port first." Russel groaned before perking up "But I heard Goodwitch is planning something different for Combat Class today, looks you won't be getting to beat the snot outta Arc again."

"Whatever, that was getting boring anyway. I could use a challenge." Cardin said with a smirk as he gave each of his teammates a card before pocketing his own and walking with them towards their first class of the day.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

The private Schnee bullhead was very spacious and extremely luxurious with plenty of space, places to sit, things to eat and drink, things to do during the journey.

Doctor Ferdinand sat at the minibar, having poured himself a drink of wine and sipping at it. Whitley walked in from the cockpit and walked towards his taking a seat next to the man. He poured himself some juice in a wine glass, he hadn't yet acquired the taste for Alcohol and doubted he ever would considering the state it had left his mother.

"The pilot says we should be back at the manor by evening," Whitley informed him.

"Excellent, it wouldn't do to be away for too long." Ferdinand chuckled. "My control over your father is limited as it is. Too much time alone and he might get a hold of himself. So the recording?"

"Right here." Whitley opened the scroll and slid it across the bar to the doctor who caught it and watched the video.

"Yes, this will do nicely," Ferdinand said as he laughed at the video. "It should be enough to crack your fathers will, and so allow me to completely control him, making him my puppet."

"And the SDC will be ours in all but name, and fathers first act will be to name me heir and give me some small measure of control as a test run," Whitley said sipping his juice and looking out of the window. "My first act will be to increase spending on safety equipment and other such things, earning me the adoration of the faunus in Atlas and completely destroying any further arguments the White Fang has with the SDC."

"Any lost capital will easily be made up by renting out my mannequin soldiers and steadily raising the rent as time goes on mostly towards wealthier clients," Ferdinand stated sipping his wine.

"Do you think they suspect?" Whitley inquired.

"Whether they do or not is irrelevant." Ferdinand replied. "Any evidence they have would be circumstantial and all theory with nothing solid. Mr Winchester will not talk, he won't risk his dear mother. Plus we have the weight of the SDC behind us, with your fathers resources, clout and capital as our shield, they on the other hand have nothing but conjecture."

"You know, a part of me legitimately hoped it wouldn't come to this," Whitley said sadly as he glanced at the video from the corner of his eye, breaking the silence and changing the topic. "I really hoped Weiss would reach out to me, I suppose I could have tried harder but still…"

"Are you having second thoughts?"

"Not anymore, Father, Mother, Winter, Weiss. They all made it clear where they stand and that's not with me." Whitley growled tightening his grip on his own wine glass. "I stand alone. So I will forge my own destiny and take what I want."

"A toast, to our profitable future ventures." Ferdinand chuckled holding up his glass to Whitley

"A toast, to taking hold of our destinies." Whitley held up his glass and clinked it against Ferdinand's own.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 or RWBY they are the property of their respective owners, any resemblance to any other Persona 4 or RWBY fan fiction is coincidental and plagiarism is not intended. No flames please constructive criticism only.**

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After Yu had finished questioning Weiss he'd escorted her back to her dorm where Ruby was waiting for her outside the door. Team RWBY had been given a pass for Professor Peach's class but they still had to attend History, Grimm studies and Combat Class.

"Hey Weiss, are you…" Weiss said nothing to her partner and simply walked past her sadly into the room "Ok?

Ruby looked after her with worry in her eyes before shutting the door and looking at her teacher.

"Professor, about Weiss, well I…" Ruby stopped stammering and took a deep breath before continuing. "Mr Holmes wanted to talk to me and well, I don't think Weiss did what did she did on her own. I mean, well we saw but I don't think-"

Yu held up a hand to stop her, "It's ok, I understand what you mean and after talking to Weiss I am of the same mind." Ruby's eyes seemed to brighten; she opened her mouth to talk but Yu continued. "Unfortunately, we have no way to prove that what was seen was not real." Ruby's eyes lost their shine. "I will do my best to find the truth of the matter, right now what you can do is help Weiss. She needs a friend no matter how sensitive she might be feeling, being alone is the last thing she needs right now."

"Ok, thank you, professor." Ruby nodded gratefully before taking a deep breath and entering the room, clearly intent on trying to help her partner and friend.

" _Man what a pain, another mystery to solve._ " Cu Chulainn complained.

" _Well at least we'll have something to do, teaching was getting kind of boring._ " Achilles shrugged

" _You mean teaching nothing until they're ready?_ " Mordred sighed. "Great idea by the way Chiron."

" _Persona isn't like teaching someone to fight_." Chiron defended. " _Its power is dependent on the bonds you share with others._ "

" _Adachi would beg to differ._ "

" _Adachi had help from Ameno-Sagiri and Izanami, anyone would be stronger with a god helping them out._ "

Yu couldn't help but notice as he got closer to the elevator to Ozpins office, the scent of burning tobacco. If Sherlock was smoking his pipe, it was a sign that he was in deep thought. The smell got stronger as Yu stepped into the elevator.

" _Did the asshole really have to smoke in such a confined space?_ " Mordred asked grumpily as Yu pressed the button for Ozpins office.

He was so deep in thought himself that he just barely noticed when the elevator came to a stop and opened up into Ozpins office. There he saw Glynda and Ozpin standing to one side while Sherlock was reading several files on Ozpins computer, occasionally puffing his pipe.

"I finish speaking to Weiss. She says she doesn't remember attacking Whitley, one minute Whitley was talking to her about being a waitress and the next she was being restrained by Yang." Yu reported.

"Well, that's a fairly obvious lie." Glynda scoffed.

"I spoke to her using the Orb of Sight," Yu stated. "As far as it is concerned, she told the truth."

"Maybe it was the truth as she sees it?" Ozpin suggested.

"The Orb isn't fooled by perspectives or bias, it reveals the absolute truth, and the truth is that Weiss Schnee did NOT attack her brother."

Suddenly the consulting detective who scarcely acknowledged his presence, who had been Quickly reading through a file, then closed it and opening another to read. He quickly read through it before whirling around to face the three.

"That information along with my use of the resources available to me puts an important piece of the puzzle in place and so I finally believe I have a theory about all this," Holmes stated. "Thanks to Professor Ozpin making some inquiries to James Ironwood on my behalf, which was delivered most quickly, both a good and a bad thing."

"Bad?" Glynda wondered.

"My fears about the speed of its delivery were confirmed when I read it." Holmes took out his pipe and put it out, before pocketing it and continuing. "There was not much, despite what I'm sure was a thorough investigation on the Generals part into this Doctor Ferdinand. As I said there was little, only that he is apparently from a village outside the walls destroyed by Grimm and no birth records either."

"Not unusual if he's a settle outside a major city." Ozpin pointed out. "Even as 'efficient' as Atlas is they can't take a count of everyone within the borders of their kingdom."

"Indeed, so I tried delving into what we did know, according to a butler named Klein who provided a statement through Ms Schnee's elder sister Winter, this Ferdinand fellow came about a year ago onto the estate with young Whitley."

"Whitley brought him to the Schnee estate?" Yu asked. "So why hadn't Weiss met him?"

"Apparently the family has a strained relationship, according to Mr Klein she was practising her combat skills on the other side of the manor, alone," Holmes responded idly fiddling with his pipe inside his pocket. "It was then Mr Schnee took Ferdinand to see his father and somehow convinced him to hire him on the spot. Despite having no qualifications or degrees from any notable educational institute nor any achievements to his name. Yet he hired this man to create these Mannequin Warriors for greater security and to hire out for a profit."

"Impossible." Glynda scoffed with disbelief. "Jacques Schnee is a notoriously careful miser. He'd never leave such a project in the hands of an unknown, even one brought in by his own family."

"Exactly, and we know that these Mannequin Warriors are not genetically engineered lifeforms but proto-homunculi." Holmes pulled a pair of images side by side, one was clearly a human figure but the other looks more like the mannequin warrior, bulky and humanoid, "Paracelsus explained that true homunculi can easily pass as humans as long as they aren't examined too closely, proto-homunculi look like the soldier that tried to kill Ms Schnee. Bulky, not very human at all, and at its core it requires an incomplete Philosophers stone to give it life. Complete or incomplete only an alchemist could create one. This has lead me to two theories, one Ferdinand is from Earth, or two he has somehow received this knowledge from Earth."

"But how is that possible?" Glynda asked.

"Klein did say that Ferdinand appeared first about a year ago correct?" Ozpin inquired.

"Indeed," Holmes confirmed.

"So we reliably know he's been on Remnant about a year, or decided to make his move a year ago, perhaps needing the time to study this knowledge?" Ozpin said rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Could we get James to help?" Glynda asked. "Surely he could detain this man and interrogate him."

"I think you overestimate James's power," Ozpin answered smoothly. "Atlas isn't a military dictatorship, even though he has two seats on their council thanks to his position as Headmaster as well as General, even James must answer to the Council and you can bet that the other Councillors are firmly in Jacques pocket. You can bet they would stop James in his tracks."

"I would soon wager an announcement from the SDC of Weiss 'stepping aside' so that her brother Whitley might become the heir." Holmes piped up, taking out his pipe and relighting to take a puff. "Then possibly, Jacques retirement shortly thereafter."

"Which would put this Ferdinand in defacto control of one of the most powerful companies on the planet." Glynda realised with shock. "Is there nothing we can do?"

"We don't even know what this villain intends to do with the SDC once he controls it, never mind the fact that all of this is conjecture and circumstantial evidence at best," Holmes stated, puffing his pipe casually. "All we can do now is wait for developments, with luck some important clue will reveal itself, or perhaps this fellow will slip up somehow."

"Should we tell James?"

"I'll talk to him when he arrives for the festival."

Yu decided to leave and get ready, Glynda's combat class was starting soon and he needed to think about what he'd do for the fights she planned.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Ruby Rose couldn't help but be worried. She'd done everything she could to make sure Weiss didn't feel alone. But she hadn't gotten the response she expected. Weiss hadn't snapped or lashed out at her like she'd expected, no she hadn't really done anything but clearly restrain her tears and remain silent. Not fighting off the hugs Ruby gave but not really embracing them either.

As they made their way to combat class Weiss's eyes remained hidden behind her bangs. Neither Yang nor Blake really said anything leaving Ruby to try and help her partner on her own. But it seemed that no matter what she tried Weiss remained depressed.

When they got to combat class and took their seats near team JNPR, Weiss's expression became one of focus, as if trying not to think about her current situation.

"Today our combat class will be different, each of you will take turns having a one on one battle with Professor Narukami."

The few members of the class who had been talking fell silent. Disbelief, fear and surprise were the motions on peoples faces. The second decorating the faces of RWBY and JNPR as they were more privy to just what their teacher was truly capable of.

"This is your fault Xiao Long." Weiss whispered with annoyance, coming out of her shell temporarily, which Ruby was happy about.

"What why me?" yang whispered back incredulously.

"You, that muscle brain Cardin and those other morons who got cocky and started saying that you were all so good you didn't need her instruction anymore." Weiss glared daggers at Yang. "This payback and we're all going to suffer."

"Anyone who can successfully defeat Professor Narukami will get a passing grade for this year's Combat Class." Professor Goodwitch Announced.

"We're doomed." Weiss groaned.

Ruby agreed with her sentiment and could only shake her head as some students suddenly sat up straight upon hearing this, seemingly forgetting that Narukami had killed the King of the Emerald forest and was a headmaster class huntsmen. They'd risen for the bait. Judging by Professor Narukami's nonchalant expression as he flicked through the Arcana which were orbiting him, this wasn't going to end well for anyone.

Suddenly he looked up to Ruby and gave her a smile. It wasn't a nice smile. It was a smile similar to the one Yang had on her face that one time Ruby had framed her for stealing some cookies out of the jar. The young reaper couldn't restrain the shiver that went down her spine, even as some of the other teams were stating what they'd do with their free time once they won.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Ruby had been correct, several teams later and Izanagi floated next to Yu undefeated. The prime persona had pretty much defeated most challengers in one blow. Those that lasted longer were defeated with a cross slash. While guys had taken blunt blows to the crotch and sent out of the ring, girls had been punted into the shield wall which protected the audience from stray attacks. To make things more humiliating not a single attack had even touched Narukami, nor had any come close.

When it came to team CRDL's turn he changed things up. For each one he called one of four Oni; Kin-Ki, Fuu-Ki, Ongyo-Ki and Sui-Ki for each one respectively. Cardin arguably had it the worst, as Kin-Ki a large persona the size of an Ursa stood there in all his golden glory and didn't move or flinch as Cardin attacked him over and over, his blows doing absolutely nothing. Eventually, the oni got bored and backhanded Cardin out of the arena.

Russel was blown away by a Garula Fuu-Ki before he even got close. Ongyo-Ki had concealed himself, gotten close and given Dove Bronzewing a taser level shock after tripped him up when he charged at Yu. Last but not least was Sky Lark who had his legs frozen by Sui-ki. It was only his legs due to the fact that he had given up before the ice could get any higher.

With team CRDL out of the way, Ruby flinched as Yu's eyes fell upon her. She nearly jumped when Professor Goodwitch called out her name.

"Ruby Rose."

Upon the calling of her name, Ruby stood up and ran to the locker room and changed from her school uniform into her combat outfit. Finally, she withdrew Crescent Rose and made her way to the arena.

Yu stood on the opposite side of the arena, the Arcana still orbiting him. Finally, when she stepped into the ring he gave her a smile. When Goodwitch gave the signal to begin, Ruby quickly shifted her weapon into its sniper mode. But Yu had already crushed an Arcana. She pulled the trigger which flew towards him as blue flames coalesced into a solid form. The sniper round impacted on a furry pillar which blocked her view of the young teacher.

Ruby heard a low growl and looked up to see Fenrir, only he was much bigger than the last time she had seen him. Shifting back into scythe mode, she began thinking fast.

'Ok, he's way bigger than last time, I saw him.' Ruby thought fast trying to think of a strategy. 'So he's really big, so that means he won't be too fast-' she ducked and ran as a massive wall of razor-sharp teeth suddenly snapped at where she had just been. 'OH, MY OUM HE'S REALLY FAST!'

From up in the audience Yang would have been worried if the sight wasn't so comical. The sight reminded of a cartoon, her sister ran in circles around the arena from the gigantic wolf who snapped just behind her. Fenrir stopped only when she tried to charge for Yu, at which point the wolf blocked her path, either with a paw or a solid wall of ice created by a Bufudyne.

Yang suddenly was on her feet as massive jaws enveloped Ruby. Crescent Rose clattering to the ground away from the great wolf's teeth. There was silence for a moment before a bulge quickly appeared on his cheek. It returned to normal before another appeared on the other side. This kept going over and over until finally the great narrowed his eyes in thoughtfully, he shook his head a moment and the bulging stopped.

Fenrir methodically plodded over to the side of the arena and lowered his head, he promptly spat Ruby out.

"EW! gross, gross, gross!" She complained utterly drenched in Fenrir's saliva, she squeezed her cloak trying to get as much out of it as possible before glaring at the wolf. "That was gross, now I need a really long bath."

"Hmph," Fenrir snorted indignantly "You taste like flowers, it is disgusting."

"Oh yeah, well you-"

"Ruby Rose loses by ring out." Glynda suddenly cut in.

Ruby looked around, saw where she was and groaned before picked herself up, grabbing crescent rose and slinking back to the locker room. As this happened the ice created by Fenrir crumbled to pieces and simply faded away.

"Weiss Schnee."

Weiss dutifully stood up and headed down to the locker room passing Ruby on her way. She gave a small acknowledgement of her partner which cheered Ruby up a bit. Eventually, she stepped out of the locker room and into the arena, Myrtenaster in hand. Got into a stance, ready for battle.

Yu crushed an Arcana, and out it appeared a woman in a plain white kimono which obscured her feet. Her skin was as pale as the snow, and her eyes and hair were a very pale blue colour.

"Well, well, I'm called to battle, yet you have such a pretty face." Yuki-onna giggled, her tone soft like snow. "I'll try not to damage it too much; you'd make such a nice sculpture for my collection!"

"Begin!"

Yuki-Onna began the fight by sending icicles at Weiss with bufu, but she easily shattered them all and moved to strike. The snow woman was not done yet however and started using Bufala to send large blocks, all about the size of a football in Weiss's direction. She dodged and weaved around them, deciding to keep her momentum going, avoiding each every single one.

The gap between Weiss and Yuki-Onna began to close, then a large block of ice the size of an Ursa forced her to stop as it dropped in front of her. Fortunately, she didn't lose all of her momentum and quickly froze the ground and skated around it. More of these large blocks, created by Bufudyne began to fall.

As one of them began to fall a Glyph appear on it. Weiss jumped and used the glyph to jump at the next one, a waiting Glyph sent her a bit quicker this time. Yuki-Onna sent icicles at her, but they were too slow, impacting the large blocks of ice just after Weiss had already used the Glyph to leap to the next.

Then she was in range, and using dust sent a wave of fire at Yuki-Onna causing her to flinch cry out in pain, a pain Yu shared causing him to pay a bit more attention to the battle. He'd gotten cocky, and that mistake had allowed Weiss to surprise him. She was past yuki-Onna and approaching him, made to stab him when at the last second a large ice block smashed into her and sent out of the arena.

"Weiss Schnee loses by ring out," Glynda announced.

Yu dismissed Yuki-Onna, the ice vanishing with her as she returned to the Sea of Souls. He walked over to Weiss who held her side painfully and helped her to her feet.

"That was impressive, you almost had me," Yu told her.

"Did you go easy on me?" Weiss asked quietly, looking at him with unsure eyes.

"No, I just got cocky after how easy all the other battles against the class were so far," Yu admitted with a shrug. "But you were impatient. Fire is Yuki-Onna's weakness, she is a spirit of ice and snow after all if you'd followed up with a second fire attack on her you could have defeated her and I would have been in trouble. When fighting them, you should aim to defeat them, damaging them isn't enough, pain for them is temporary, far more than it is for humans."

Weiss nodded before returning to the locker room. She was less subdued than before but still not entirely back to normal.

'I think she's gonna need a bit more help.' Chiron commented 'I think perhaps some extra-curricular activity is order.'

Yu agreed, and he also knew thanks to Horus who had been flying around outside of the Academy, just the place that might help.

'Allow me to take care of this one.' Chiron materialised as Blake Belladonna was now in her combat outfit standing opposite him, gambol Shroud at the ready. Strange, he hadn't even heard Glynda call her name.

"You were rather deep in thought, you may want to be careful of that. Overthinking things can lead to as much trouble as underthinking them." Chiron advised him as he walked and placed him firmly opposite of Blake whose Bow twitched.

'Does she seriously think she's fooling anyone with that bow?' Cu Cuhallian wondered.

'Her team evidently, maybe they haven't noticed yet, the twitching isn't too obvious.' Raum commented.

"Begin!"

Blake drew Gambol Shroud in its pistol mode but was forced to move back as an arrow embedded itself into the floor where her left foot had been seconds before. Another arrow was quickly on its way, forcing her to keep moving.

' _Sheesh, he's using the same tactic he used to train me._ ' Achilles said with a noticeable shudder in his voice.

' _He trained you this way?_ ' Heracles inquired.

' _Yeah, how do you think I got so fast? I had to because he kept trying to shoot my legs._ ' Achilles shuddered again. ' _But he's taking it easy on her if he was training her like me for real her legs be swiss cheese by now._ '

' _Chiron's always been the sink or swim type._ '

Blake did get a few shots off aiming for Yu, however, Chiron intercepted them and deflected the shots with his bracers. However, the trainer of heroes did not stay still as he did so, opting to dash closer to Blake until he was up close to her. She promptly leapt back creating a shadow clone as she did so, but Chiron was not fooled and went through the clone and drove his fist into her gut. She was quickly sent out of the arena.

"Blake Belladonna loses by ring out."

"You're agile and stealthy I imagine. But you're also the lone wolf type prone to doing things by yourself, that's a weakness as part of a team, especially seeing as you have a partner." Chiron said as Blake stood back up. "I recommend working with your partner on your teamwork, maybe develop some combination moves?"

Blake merely nodded and went back to the locker room passing Yang who walked past her and gave her an encouraging shoulder pat as she walked into the arena. Chiron summoned his bow and had an arrow ready.

"Begin!"

Yang started off by firing a pair of shots of Ember Cecilia. A pair of arrows intercepted both shots causing them to explode and kicking up a large smoke screen. Yang charged into it hoping to catch Chiron off guard. However, when she came out the other side she felt something whiz past her ear. She looked and a lone strand of blond hair float by itself to the ground.

Yang felt her temper flare as her precious hair had been damaged. Her hair became a like a red flame and she rushed at Chiron fully intended to smash his face to bits. However instead of making contact with his face, her outstretched fist was pushed aside at the wrist, then she felt his free hand be driven into her stomach. Then she was spun around and tossed back to the other side of the ring.

She rolled and skidded but was able to stop herself from going out of the ring. Only to receive a kick to the face which finished the job and ended the fight.

"Yang Xiao Long loses by ring out."

"It seems we'll to have to do more work on that temper of yours," Chiron commented. "Though your tactic was sound, it was ruined when I was able to make you angry. Don't worry, you'll learn and in time be a great warrior. Strong as he was, even Heracles learnt that brute force can't solve everything."

Yang nodded and sighed as she stood up to go back to the locker room.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

The final match after a few more teams was against team JNPR. Lie Ren went first, he was met by Li Shuwen, who quickly met him in close quarters combat and defeated him. But not before offering the boy pointers and offering to give him some instruction. Nora Valkyrie had faced off against Thor, who gave her a quick jolt from a Zionga purely to make the fight more interesting.

This, in turn, activated her semblance which increased her strength which was exactly what Thor had wanted. The son of Odin had done his best to enjoy the fight with the girl. He actually quite liked her claiming she reminded him of an actual Valkyrie. The fight ended with Thor knocking her unconscious much like Li Shuwen had done to Lie Ren rather than sending her out of the ring.

Next up had been Pyrrha Nikos. Achilles had been all too eager to fight the so-called Invincible girl. Coincidently her name was the same as the alias Achilles himself had taken when he had to go into hiding disguised, at the insistence of his mother Thetis amongst the daughters of King Lycomedes of Scyros after she had foreseen his death in the Trojan war, only to be uncovered by Agamemnon with the help of Odysseus.

Initially when the fight began Achilles had been excited to fight someone who was supposedly invincible when even he had only been invulnerable and even then not completely. But as the fight went on and he realised her trick, he became disappointed. Her semblance which she had opted not to put on her Beacon admission form, (which was fine it was optional to do so) was polarity. He noted the slight black aura which seemed to influence her weapons and his, as well as his armour and weapon.

Achilles disappointed and slightly angry opted to use his legendary speed to his advantage. Quickly moving behind Pyrrha and sweeping her legs from under her. She, however, performed a handstand to regain her balance but was met with a kick to the stomach as Achilles dashed to her front and sent her out of the arena.

When the match ended he went back to the Sea of Souls without a word, most likely in Chiron's words, to sulk.

"Jaune Arc."

The scraggly blond made his way to the arena after getting his gear from the locker room. Before Yu could make a choice a Persona came to the fore.

' _I shall deal with this one._ ' A stern cold voice stated as he materialised before Yu.

He was a knight, wearing deep black armour, a black mantle draped around his shoulders, black hair and steely grey eyes.

"I am Sir Agravaine, Knight of the Round Table and I shall keep the unworthy away from the king."

Jaune noticeably flinched and took a step back under the gaze of the stern knight. To his credit, however, he managed to draw his sword and unfold his shield.

"Begin."

Jaune charged and slashed at Agravaine who easily deflected the sloppy attack with his own longsword. This caused Jaune to stumbled before he regained his balanced and tried again, and again Agravaine deflected the blow and knocked him off balance. However this time he pressed and wrenched the shield out of Jaunes grasp and flung it away.

"Your stance is so poor it'd be insulting to call it sloppy," Agravaine criticised harshly, pressing his attack which force Jaune to keep back up even as his aura began to be depleted in chunks. "Not to mention you swordsmanship, either you're a slacker who just decided to pick up that weapon one day with dreams of being a hero or this really is the limit of what you can do."

With that Agravaine grabbed Jaune's sword arm and held it tight, and promptly sliced at his armour until his Aura hit the red zone. He then promptly shoved the blond onto his backside.

"Jaune Arc's Aura is in the red, the fight is over."

"For your sake, I sincerely hope it's the former, at least then you aren't completely hopeless," Agravaine stated before turning his back and vanishing back into the Sea of Souls.

To his credit, Jaune didn't look too unhappy, at least not more than usual when he'd lost a match in combat class. Agravaine was a harsh taskmaster. He'd tested everyone who came to Camelot seeking to become a squire, making sure to only allow the cream of the crop regardless of their titles or family name.

After several more teams, all of which Yu defeated, Combat Class ended. Glynda seemed rather pleased that her class had been humbled. Yu, however, looked at Weiss with concern and made a decision. She needed some time away and he'd help her with that.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

In his office, atop the tower, Ozpin was sipping his coffee when a call came through. He put the mug down on his desk and accepted the call. On the screen appeared James Ironwood his friend and headmaster of Atlas Academy as well as general of its military.

"Hello James, can I do something for you?"

"I need to ask you something, has Salem ever used criminal organisations to try and achieve her goals"

"She has, but only to hire them for jobs to sabotage my work or kingdom defences. Although there was one time she created her own criminal organisation, tell what do you know of the League of Grimm?"

"They were a massive crime syndicate that conspired to bring the kingdoms to their knees about a hundred years before the great war. They nearly succeeded but were exposed and crushed by a famous Valesian detective named Ozymandias…Pinocchious." James's eyes widened as realisation painted itself across his face. "No, that was you?!"

"She had me assassinated, the next thing I knew I reincarnated into Ozymandias and together we exposed her conspiracy and crushed it," Ozpin replied sipped his coffee once more. "It took a lot of detective work, some close calls and many frustrating interrogations, to sum it up. Is there a reason you ask?"

"To be blunt, the criminal underworld in the kingdom of Atlas has become extremely well organised, from what we can tell major crime organisations and families who were once rivals have all banded together, for a common cause which I don't know. Hell, I barely have evidence that they even exist, whoever leads them is a mastermind, leaving no traces of or evidence in the crimes committed." Ironwood explained. "So do you think Salem is behind it?"

"Have any of the crimes you know of, in any way impacted the academy or the defences or military of the kingdom?" Ozpin inquired thoughtfully.

"No, most crimes have been one about accumulating wealth, or robbery of certain valuables of a personal nature."

"Blackmail then."

"Yes, but the victims have refused to talk, and their friends higher up have forced me not to press the issue," James grunted with annoyance.

"It's possible Salem is pulling the strings but unlikely, she would most certainly target you or the academy to try and get at the relic." Ozpin sighed. "I think James you might be dealing with a very clever individual, to put it mildly."

"I was afraid of that, this isn't going to be easy, I have to increase security around high-class individuals forcing me to neglect the less fortunate." Ironwood shook his head before straightening up. "That reminds me, the butler Klein got me one last piece of information for you. Apparently, in addition to this Ferdinand fellow, a new butler was hired about nine months ago. He was hired as Whitley Schnee's personal butler."

"A personal butler he did not bring to Beacon with him," Ozpin noted.

"His name is Jim Mycroft."

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Far away at the Schnee manor, two men met in a private room securely locked. Both sat before a light fireplace. Each on a chair of their own. The man who had just entered the room was Professor Ferdinand and the other who sat down on the chair nearby was an elderly gentleman, wearing a crimson coloured butler uniform not dissimilar from Klein's, and a pair of glasses upon his face.

"You're finally back Ferdinand did you have a nice trip."

"Indeed, did you have any trouble, Jim?" Ferdinand asked taking the free seat

"None, these people, despite claiming to be the most advanced nation on the planet are simpletons just like any other, cementing control over the underworld was all too easy," Jim answered closing the book he had been reading and setting it aside.

"Very good, our plans are in motion, with your control over the underworld and my plan to have Whitley take his place as CEO of the SDC we will soon have complete control over the Atlas Council." Ferdinand chuckled.

"The only problem is James Ironwood," Jim stated shaking his head. "As headmaster and General he has two seats on the council, that combined with the fact that he can't be bought or blackmailed and has strong moral fibre makes him a major impediment."

"Hmmm…. We will need to have him removed, one way or another, but for now, I suggest we be patient perhaps an opportunity will present itself." Ferdinand said beginning to relax. "By the way, how is the construction of the rocket?"

"The rocket itself is nearly complete. Rebuilding a rocket from Atlas's abandoned space program was child's play as was adapting an internal combustion engine to replace the useless dust engine. The actual difficult part was how slowly we had to buy the parts and creating the various shell companies to keep suspicion away." Jim answered rubbing his temple. "The only snag is that we have no way to create rocket fuel, and my expeditions have turned up empty for oil."

"Which means we have no choice but to acquire the Relic of Creation in the Atlas Vault," Ferdinand said with a grin. "You still have eyes on the Winter Maiden?"

"Naturally, but acquiring her will be difficult, getting her to co-operate even more so, especially as Ironwood doesn't let her go anywhere unsecured. I don't blame him, he can't know or would even believe that all of Salem's agents within Atlas are currently lying freezing in the icefields." Jim shrugged before stretching, causing his bones to pop as he stood up.

"Has Salem made any more attempts to infiltrate the kingdom?"

"Yes, but I've rebuffed them all, I even spoke with her, the only way to your desires is through me." He mocked "For a woman who's so ancient, you'd wouldn't think she wouldn't be so exceptionally arrogant."

"Well, she is immortal after all." Ferdinand pointed out. "From her perspective, she remains unchallenged and has no reason to fear you."

"Hmm, you might be right. Foolish old fossil." Jim shook his head took off his glasses to rub his eyes. "Well, I need to rest, the rocket is central to the final phase of our plans, we'll need that rocket fuel if we are to get anywhere. A strategy will be needed to get a hold of the relic of creation if I can't synthesis any appropriate fuel."

"To think, we will have to thank James Ironwood for providing us with such information, even if he doesn't know it. Perhaps we should thank him just after we destroy him and leave him with nothing." Ferdinand suggested with a chuckle.

"Indeed, I quite like that idea," Jim said standing up and heading for the door. "I do hope something can be done about Klein, that old fool hasn't let me out of his sight if he can help it."

"That poor fool has no idea that you are here _because_ of him does he?" Ferdinand chuckled again. "Well no matter, just try to bear it a bit longer, getting rid of him too early could cause complications."

"I suppose you are right, well goodnight Ferdinand." With that Jim opened the door and left the room, leaving Ferdinand alone to stare into the crackling fire his grin never leaving his face.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 or RWBY they are the property of their respective owners, any resemblance to any other Persona 4 or RWBY fan fiction is coincidental and plagiarism is not intended. No flames please constructive criticism only.**

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

When Combat Class ended Weiss had been approached by Professor Narukami. He'd offered to take her away from Beacon for the rest of the day. Normally she wouldn't have accepted but this time she did. She just needed to some room to breathe and she couldn't do that at Beacon or with her team right now.

They meant well but could see the doubt in their eyes. Strangely or perhaps not, she could see that Ruby wholeheartedly believed in her. But Blake and Yang's doubts made her uncomfortable. While Yang had said she'd keep an open mind, Blake, as usual, had been quieter and rather reluctant to keep such an open mind. Not a surprise since she'd been hostile to Weiss since day one and she had no idea why. Even after Weiss had spoken to Ruby and resolved to be better and act much less entitled.

Weiss was disturbed from her thoughts as the golden serpentine dragon she and the professor were riding on went through a cloud and began to descend. It circled downward before, the tree's and scenery below getting closer and closer, the sight and feeling making her slightly dizzy before finally touching down.

She slid off of the beast which faded away as Yu joined her. She gasped in amazement as she saw the scene before her. Large walls of rock enclosed a beautiful area of ethereal yellow flowers which surrounded a slightly raised fountain of water with a tree in the centre.

"Where, is this place?" She asked as she looked around the place.

"Somewhere in western Anima, I think?" Yu answered as Kohryu vanished.

"Anima! We're on another continent?!" She shrieked in disbelief. "But we weren't even flying for that long."

"Kohryu is a fast flyer," Yu replied. "Horus found out about this place, his eyes are the sun and the moon, apparently no ever comes here and it's far away from everything. I figured you could use the peace."

Weiss didn't say anything and slowly looked around before decided to approach the large fountain.

'This place is special.' Merlin stated as he looked around.

'Indeed' Vivian agreed 'This place, the boundary between this world and the Sea of Souls is especially thin here.'

'This place was the domain of a deity.' Scathach declared after looking around and sniffing the air.

This had been the home of a god? That explained the strange feeling in the air. Yu made sure to keep an extra close eye on Weiss who had gotten to the fountain and had taken a seat on side of it. So Remnant had gods too. An interesting fact were they still around? or had they receded like the gods on Earth had.

'I wouldn't worry too much, whatever god used to inhabit this place is long gone, but their blessing upon this place remains, I would make sure she doesn't take a drink or go for a swim in the water.' Scathach advised.

Yu noted that the place was very peaceful, the smell and the gentle breeze of air, the colour of the plant's plant's everything just seemed tranquil.

"It looks so clear and calm, the water is cleaner than any I've ever seen," Weiss stated as he came to stand next to her.

"I wouldn't drink any of it or go a swim, apparently this place used to be the home of a god," Yu said to her casually.

"A god? Gods are real?" Weiss asked whipping her head to look at him. "But if that's true then, the grimm? the White Fang? Why?!"

She seemed to stammer off, her words becoming incomprehensible before falling silent again.

"Why would gods allow all this pain and misery? Why would they create the Grimm?"

"You can't think of gods in the same way as humans," Yu explained. "Mortal sensibilities like our sense morality are foreign to them, they have their own logic and laws, they also know that they are above humans and have no reason to conform to our rules or even care about our feelings. If want answers you could seek out the gods and ask them but like I said you probably won't like or even understand their answer."

Weiss sighed sadly before turning to look back at her reflection in the calm surface of the water.

"Do you think they could answer what happened to me?" Weiss inquired sadly.

"It depends on what kind of authorities they have, but it's entirely possible."

"I don't know what to think anymore, I didn't...did I? Whitley!"

"Who cares?" A familiar yet watery voice asked.

Both Yu and Weiss sat straight up at hearing this. Suddenly a watery giggle echoed through the area.

"Whose there?" Weiss demanded, jumping to her feet, standing on the stone edge of the fountain. "Show yourself."

"Are you sure you want me to do that?" The voice asked with that watery tone.

Then Yu noticed, Weiss had stood up. So why was her reflection still looking up at her? Then he saw that her reflection's eyes were a familiar shade of yellow. He reacted quickly and yanked Weiss off of the fountain and onto the ground just in time as a dainty hand swiped at her leg. When it couldn't find its mark it suddenly grabbed the edge of the fountain. Another hand joined it. Then like a scene out of a horror movie a figure pulled itself up and out of the water, rising to stand upon the wall of the fountain, strangely they were bone dry despite having come up from out the water.

"What is that?!" Weiss asked in horror.

The figure looked exactly like Weiss, save for the yellow eyes and very un-Weiss like smile on her face. She looked down at her counterpart, her smile becoming a rather haughty expression.

"oh-hohohohoho" She laughed in a rather haughty and annoying manner "It should be obvious, I am Weiss Schnee of course."

"T-that's impossible, I am Weiss Schnee!" Weiss objected loudly.

"And so am I." The reflection chirped "I am you and you are me."

"Weiss, that's your shadow." Yu told her loudly ready summon a persona in case things became violent. "Remember don't reject it, listen to it!"

"But, I thought you said we weren't ready for this." She cried out backing off causing her shadow to step forwards

"I didn't summon it here, it must be this place," Yu said thinking about what he'd been told, this place was close to the Sea of Souls, so had it been able to materialise on its own. But how?

"You don't need to be afraid." The shadow stated placing a hand upon Weiss's cheek. "I only want what's best for us after all."

"What's best? What do you mean?" Weiss inquired warily.

"Think back to what happened. What do you remember about attacking Whitley?" The shadow asked.

"I don't remember anything, one minute Whitley was taunting me and the next the professor was restraining me," Weiss answered angrily

"That's not true and you know it." The shadow snapped with annoyance. "Focus, you did feel something it just scares you to admit it or even think about, saying you don't remember is just a lie to avoid the truth."

"T-the truth?" Weiss grabbed her head a dull pain began throbbing in her skull.

"You wanted to hit Whitley at that moment didn't you?"

"I-I"

"DIDN'T YOU?!" The shadow bellowed causing Yu to fall into a stance, ready to defend Weiss if necessary.

"YES!" Weiss screamed the admission causing the shadow to grin.

"When he offered me that card and said those words I wanted to punch him, but I didn't! I held it in."

"So why did pretend that you didn't remember what happened?"

"I was disgusted and ashamed because I felt something got inside me and controlled me, I hated feeling so powerless," Weiss confessed tears falling from eyes.

"Why would they want to control you?" The shadow asked pressing further.

"They-they wanted to make Whitley the heir," Weiss said her eyes widening in realisation.

"Because?"

"Because they could control him too, and it would be easier than controlling me," Weiss said wiping away her tears.

"We were going to reform the SDC into something out grandfather could be proud of. They took our future from us, we're one disownment away from losing everything. Are you just going to sit down and accept this fate that's been given to you?" The shadow asked its grin becoming a full-blown smile.

"NO!" Weiss yelled with determination stomping her foot upon the grass which began to frost over, "I refuse to just accept this. If they want my grandfather's company I won't let it be so easy. Mother crawled into the bottle, Winter ran off to the military, Father and Whitley are always be distant, but I will not let some stranger use my grandfather's company for anything they want. I have a team now, friends."

"So shall we make a pact?" The shadow asked as an icy cold window picked up and began to blow around Weiss and her shadow. "I am thou and thou art I, let us use the ice of winter to freeze our enemies and their desires solid!"

"Help me rebel and find the truth ANASTASIA!" When she cried out Weiss's shadow erupted into a bright white light, blue flames swirled around it as the light died down. Now standing there in place of her shadow was a girl with long white hair and a fringe covering her icy blue eyes. She wore an ornate white gown and a white fur cape with gold designs and blue lining. Both her hands were held out a cold mist falling off each, both of which held a pale blue orb of light.

"She awakened to her Persona without fighting her shadow, they established a contract so easily," Merlin commented with fascination.

"It seems there is more than one way to awaken a Persona, we should discuss this with Margaret later," Scathach stated.

"Anastasia." A voice whispered in disbelief, causing the billowing wind to abruptly die down.

Weiss's persona's eyes widened as a man materialised before Yu, he had black hair and beard and moustache with cold yet sunken blue eyes, dressed in a black overcoat, trousers and pair of sandals upon his feet.

"Rasputin." She gasped clutching an amulet which dangled around her neck "My friend."

She ran to Rasputin and hugged him. As this happened Weiss looked to Yu who walked to her side.

"W-whats happening?" She asked surprised at what was happening her Persona talking to one his.

"Your persona is Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova Youngest daughter of the Romanov Empire's last Tsar, Nicholas the second, she was caught amidst the upheaval of the Russian Revolution, she was executed at Ipatiev House alongside her family, servants and pets," Yu explained.

"Russia? The Romanovs? I've never heard those names before." Weiss said raising an eyebrow.

"You wouldn't the revolution attracted grimm and the kingdom was destroyed long ago." Yu lied smoothly. "The ruins were covered in ice and snow and what would become Mantle and eventually Atlas was unknowingly built on top of it. Margaret told me about it back when Inaba was still standing."

Weiss seemed to accept the explanation before clenching her fists.

"So can we have a spar?" She asked eagerly "I want to test out this new powe-ugh." Weiss passed out before she could even finish the sentence; luckily Yu caught her before she fell to the ground. With her loss of consciousness, Anastasia vanished as well, returning to her soul.

"Did talking to her again help?" Yu inquired of Rasputin who approached him, with a small smile on his face.

"Yes, I still have many regrets about what happened especially after I was murdered." He drifted into thought before continuing "She has agreed to keep the truth a secret from the girl until they are all ready to know the truth."

"That's good." Yu nodded. "This whole thing was unexpected, it's too soon but it can't be helped. As soon as she's recovered I'll start training her."

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Far away on the northern continent Solitas at the SDC Dust mine near the former capital city of Mantle, work in a small but vital sector of the mine had stopped. Miners watched as one of their most senior miners a donkey faunus argued with the human foreman whose face was purple with outrage at how a mere faunus dared talk to him like this.

"Listen you damn animal just get back to work!" The foreman yelled furiously. "We have a deadline to meet, so hurry up."

"Sir, it's unsafe the equipment-"

"Isn't for you worthless animals, it's for decent hardworking human miners." The Foreman sneered and cut off the miner before he could continue. "As for the new 'safety protocol's they're just a PR stunt, we aren't actually implementing them, it would cost too much money, besides new faunus workers are a lien a dozen."

The miner looked ready to argue but froze, his eyes widening. The Foreman looked smug but was surprised by a voice coming from behind him.

"I think you'll find that a foreman with a mere two years experience on the job is just as easily replaced don't you agree

Ruddy Harlow?" A young voice inquired.

The foreman whipped around to see Whitley Schnee standing there with his butler Mycroft, his arms folded behind his back.

"Wait-what?!" The foreman yelled upon realized what had been said. "You can't-"

"I can, am and will," Whitley replied dismissively as Mycroft handed the foreman a pink slip of paper.

"But who are you gonna replace with?!" he screamed. "I went to college; you can't replace me so fast!"

"Actually, I can," Whitley said walking past him and to Ruddy, the miner. "Mr Harlow, you have been working in these mines for twenty years, and haven't had a raise or even proper time off in about ten. Therefore as part of the changes, I am promoting you to Foreman of sector seven G."

"Mr Schnee I-"

"YOU CAN'T REPLACE ME WITH SOME ANIMAL I HAVE A DEGREE, I WENT TO COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY!" The foreman screamed before being cut off as a pair of mannequin soldiers approached him from either side.

"Please escort the former foreman out," Mycroft ordered.

The two soldiers wordlessly did just that, hauling him by his shoulders and dragging him away, as he screamed and ranted all the while.

"Now that's out of the way, what say you, Mr Harlow?" Whitley inquired of the donkey faunus. "Naturally you'll be getting your former boss's wages, plus you know all of these people and these mines better than anyone else. So I'm sure your fellows will be in much better and safer hands."

"Y-yes Sir, thank you. B-but the deadline and the quota."

"Worry, not, we're in the middle of overhauling those so they are much more reasonable, no more soul-destroying labour, reasonable working hours and quotas. You'll receive an email with the details, for now, you all the other miners should go home, you are needed to help the men move your things."

"Our things? I don't understand." Ruddy was confused.

"Yes, some temporary accommodations have been built outside of the mining town to hold everybody, while the construction workers overhaul the entire town, frankly it was disgusting, no more will you live in slums, but in proper houses, with warm beds, clean water and proper hygienic facilities. It will take time to finish but will be worth it, this I promise you all."

All of the workers began to talk amongst each other with astonishment. They could scarcely believe what was being said. Better housing, better facilities and food. It seemed unreal after the poor treatment they gotten for so many years.

"Ah, I almost forgot, you'll all be having a paid time off for the next couple of weeks," Whitley announced. "This so the new and safer equipment can arrive and you can be trained to use it, at the companies expense of course."

"Time off, sir we-"

"Speaking of pay I almost forgot the most important part." Whitley continued holding his arms out wide. "As of now, all employees in the dust mines will be receiving a pay rise, from thirty lien a day to two hundred and twenty-five lien per day."

"T-that's..." Ruddy didn't know what to say, he noticed more than a few of his fellow Faunus tearing up and some he heard cheering with Joy. The human miners who had against odds become friends with their Faunus compatriots in the mines all looked happy for them, some nodding in approval.

"Now, Ruddy if you wouldn't mind please walk with me." Whitley requested.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

The sun had finally begun to set upon Vale. Entering a room in one of his hideouts in Vale's industrial district Roman Torchwick spotted Adachi sitting on a sofa resting his eyes. He wandered over and took the spot next to the man. On the TV was Lisa Lavender explaining a news story that was driving the cops crazy alongside his robberies. He turned it up to listen.

"-ysterious disappearances continue despite the best efforts of the police department to solve them." Lisa Lavender said into her mic. "It has been three months since it all began and still no word from the kidnappers, no ransom demands have been made and there appears to be no clear pattern either, both humans and faunus alike have been taken which some say rule out the White Fang as culprits. However, the police say they are continuing to explore every possiblit-"

"Roman." Cinder's voice cut in as she entered the room used the remote to turn the TV off. "Have you finished what we needed?"

"Yup, all of our 'special' TV's have been delivered multiple sets into each kingdom just in case any get...disabled," Roman answered.

"So does it work?" She asked looking at Adachi.

"Yeah, it works fine," Adachi sighed opening his eyes and stretching. "Now we have a nice little shortcut to all four kingdoms, without the need for border security or any of that crap. Took a stroll in Vacuo, don't know why anyone would live in that sandy shithole."

"That'll make smuggling and going between the kingdoms way easier." Mercury said, "But do you have enough 'batteries' to make it last?"

"I'm gonna get one more civilian, then I need a hunter or a huntress and it'll be self-sustaining at that point," Adachi replied tiredly.

"Why a hunter?" Emerald demanded crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at him. She hadn't liked nor trusted him since he arrived, not that he cared.

"Because people with awakened Aura give more power than regular people," Adachi replied as if speaking to a child. "It feeds off Aura after all. And it needs to be someone noteworthy because if a famous hunter or huntress vanishes it'll help create that negativity you want for your plans so badly."

"Someone famous, that'll be hard," Mercury complained. "Your kidnappings have made the news and I imagine the famous 'll be extra careful about security."

"Actually." Roman cut in pulling out a cigar and putting it between his lips, Neo dutifully lit it. "I think I know just the little red for the job."

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

"Ruby you need to chill out she'll be back soon," Yang called to her sister from her bunk bed.

Ruby had been pacing rapidly around the room waiting for her partner to return from the trip the professor had taken her on for a while. She was concerned for her partner. She'd been rather despondent for days ever since the incident that happened with her brother. Even when the team had voiced their support for her she still seemed rather distant and closed off.

"I know, but I can't help it, I'm worried about Weiss," Ruby replied waving her arms energetically. "What if something happened-"

She was cut off by a knocking at the door which she immediately zoomed over to answer.

"Wei-oh Professor." Ruby's joy fizzled out when she saw not her partner but her professor standing at the door.

"Good evening Ruby, can I come in?" He asked. "I need to talk to you for a moment."

She stepped aside and he entered using his scroll to shut the door behind him. The three girls all noticed a distinct lack of their fourth member. Naturally Ruby was the first talk.

"Professor, where is Weiss?" She asked apprehensively.

"She's resting in the infirmary," he replied bluntly, causing Blake to close her book and Yang to hope off of the bed.

"The Infirmary!" Ruby cried now fully worried for her partner.

"Is she hurt?" Yang asked with concern.

"No, but she is exhausted, she'll be resting for at least a week before she's able to resume attending classes again," Yu explained not missing a.

"What happened?" Ruby asked

"Did you get attacked by grimm?" Yang added.

"No, her shadow appeared," Yu responded eliciting gasps and more than few shocked looks.

"Wait, I thought you said we weren't ready, so why did you summon here without us there?" Blake asked accusingly causing both Ruby and Yang to look at him the later with an angry expression.

"I didn't." Yu began to explain. "The place we visit had a thin membrane between our world and the sea of souls. Combine that with Weiss's emotional turmoil and I suspect that the conditions were right for her shadow to materialise on its own."

"So, you fought it?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I didn't have to, she accepted it instead of rejecting it," Yu told them still rather surprised himself. "So it didn't go berserk and try to kill her."

"So she has a persona now!" Ruby asked her eyes glittering with excitement. "What's it like? Is it cool looking? Does it have awesome powers?"

"Easy there Rubes let the prof get a word in," Yang said putting her sister into a headlock and messing up her hair even as she tried to break free.

"All I know is that it like has an ice affinity," Yu replied with a shrug. "I'll train Weiss with it after she's recovered. It'll take time before she's ready to fight with it. Summoning your Persona at first and using it to battle take a mental toll, but like exercising a muscle it gets stronger and easier with constant use."

"You said that Persona's are based off myths and legends." Blake pointed out. "So who or what is Weiss's persona?"

Yu thought for a moment before answering the question. "I personally believe that the identity of a persona is rather personal, so I think its best that Weiss tell you that herself." Ruby opened her mouth "After she is ready to receive visitors." Yu reminded Ruby which caused the silver eyed girl's mouth to close.

"So when do you think we'll be able to visit her?" Ruby asked quickly.

"Check in with Margaret tomorrow morning. If she agrees then it should be fine, but if not make sure to have patience." He said before taking on a reassuring tone. "Remember Weiss will recover."

"Ok, thank you professor." Ruby said a little disheartened but still understanding.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Yu finally was on his way down the hall and heading back to his own room. Passing by room after room as he did so. The voices of Ruby, Yang and Blake fading as he got further away from their now shut door.

" _Well that could've gone worse._ " Loki commented with a relaxed tone of voice that sounded like he was relaxing in a hammock.

"For once I agree with the trickster." Thor boomed. "They took the news much better than expected."

"That does not mean we should not keep an eye on them." Chiron chimed in. "I suspect that team RWBY will be rather troublesome in the future if Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long are anything to go by."

"The fact that Weiss's arcana is The Moon as we determined in class, could spell interesting times ahead." Loki chuckled.

Well Weiss was not going to be like Ai Ebihara so that was a plus. Ai certainly had her own personal issues, but it still didn't make interacting with her any less difficult. That whole episode was a story all on its own.

The exit to the dorms was nearing, but Yu paused as he heard some loud banging coming from a room with an open door. Putting on his stern teacher face he approached and saw that it was Team CRDL's room.

"Damn it!" Russel cursed as Yu came into to see him paying some Lien to a smug looking Dove.

"See man," Dove said waving a scroll in Russel's face. "I told you that these new models are huntsman grade tough. I stomped it and it still works."

"Oh, hey Professor." Sky greeted him nervously causing Cardin to look over from his position near his window.

"What was that loud bang?" Yu demanded.

"Sorry, that was me I put aura into my stomp when I was trying to prove to Russel how tough our new scrolls are." Dove explained sheepishly.

"Well, try to keep it down and-" Yu paused when he heard a voice coming in from the window that Cardin was standing near, he walked up to it hear better.

"You're wrong. I-I don't belong here" That was Jaune's voice. But what did that mean?

"That's a terrible thing to say! Of course you do!" Pyrrha's voice said in a reassuring tone.

"No, I don't!"Jaune sounded angry and let out a sigh "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon..."

…What?

"Wh-what do you mean?" Pyrrha inquired, asking the question that Yu himself wished to know the answer to.

"I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests. I didn't earn my spot at this Academy!" Jaune's voice got higher as he continued his confession. "I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied!"

" _He did what?!_ " Sir Gawain yelled furiously unheard to all save for Yu and his other Persona's.

"What? But... why?"

"'Cause this is always what I've wanted to be! My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors! They were all heroes! I wanted to be one, too. I was just never good enough."

"Then let me help you!" Pyrrha tried to reach out.

"I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!" Jaune yelled angry with frustration.

"Jaune, I-" The champion tried to talk, to console her partner but he cut her off still angry.

"I'm tired of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives! Don't you understand? If I can't do this on my own... then what good am I?" There was brief pause, clearly Nikos tried to reach out to him but was rebuffed. "Just... leave me alone. Okay?"

"If that's what you think is best..." She said sadly as Jaune stormed inside slamming the door behind himself.

A few seconds passed before she went inside as well closing the door behind herself, albeit more gently than he had. The silence was deafening, broken only by the wind and the sounds of insects chirping outside, until Cardin finally spoke up.

"Hey, Professor are you ok?" he asked nervously, Yu noticed her glancing downwards towards Yu's hand which he had unconsciously clenched tightly.

He felt furious, but calmed himself before talking.

"I'm fine, I'm going to have a talk with the Headmaster, in the mean time you all keep your heads down and your mouths shut, I will deal with this, do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal sir" Cardin said with a nervous smile, his team all giving mumbles of agreement.

Satisfied, Yu walked out closing the door behind him. His feelings of anger, disbelief and slight sadness washing out of him though he didn't let them show. He was angry because Jaune had lied, cheated his way into Beacon. Disbelieving because he had gotten lucky enough to make this far without being killed, and Sad because while Jaune was not a bad a person and did indeed have the potential to be strong Persona user, Yu couldn't in good conscience let this go without consequence. Being a huntsman was a dangerous professsion. Yu had only gotten this far because of his various Personae and the one on one training sessions he had with Ozpin.

Jaune on the other hand had literally no training, nor real combat experience prior to entering Beacon. It was a miracle he wasn't killed in the Emerald Forest during the initiation. If not for Pyrrha unlocking his Aura he probably would be dead. If the fact that he walked into a Deathstalkers den was any indication had no prior knowledge of how to fight the grimm either.

That was why Yu had to go to Ozpin, some of his anger also directed towards the headmaster. From what he had observed Ozpin was a man of many secrets and knew much more than he let on. While he was human and not omniscient, Yu could not believe that he didn't know about this, but there was only one way to be sure.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

 **AN: Ok just to head anything off, no I do not dislike Jaune and am not going to bash him. He's actually one of my** **favourite** **characters. But it's just not realistic for a teacher like Yu to just overlook this especially considering how serious and important a profession being huntsman is to the world of Remant.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 or RWBY they are the property of their respective owners, any resemblance to any other Persona 4 or RWBY fan fiction is coincidental and plagiarism is not intended. No flames please constructive criticism only.**

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Yu couldn't keep an angry look from his face as emotions of disbelief, fury and shock roiled inside him. Monsters remained indifferent as did Dragons, Scholars and Sages debated along with Heroes, while Demons prodded and tried to keep the argument going, while Angels and other such Persona's tried to act as peacemakers and calm things down. He did feel conflicted on the situation but regardless, he had to know the truth. So as he rode the elevator up to the headmaster's office he clenched his hand in his pocket, feeling the Orb of Truth there.

Having an epiphany he took out his scroll and began reviewing the footage from the Initiation in the forest. It didn't take long to spot Pyrrha and work his way back until finally, he saw something that made his eyes narrow. Pyrrha Nikos unlocking Jaune's aura. The implications of this added to the storm in his mind as the doors suddenly opened revealing Glynda turning away from Ozpin, with some paperwork in hand.

"Ozpin," Yu called out sternly to the headmaster, his tone causing Glynda to pause mid-stride.

"Is something the matter Mr Narukami?"Ozpin asked looking impassive.

"I know the truth about Jaune Arc, Ozpin," Yu told him, causing the headmaster to sigh.

"What truth?" Glynda inquired looking at Ozpin with a questioning stare.

"His transcripts are fake, he yelled it from the rooftop at his partner," Yu explained not taking his eyes off of Ozpin whose facial expression remained unreadable. "Team CRDL will keep silent, I have seen to that, but I want an explanation, you cannot expect me to believe he fooled you."

"Fake... Ozpin!" Glynda yelled scandalised before realisation crossed her face and fixing the headmaster with a glare. "That explains his lack of progress in my class, he's probably never been in a fight in his life before the initiation."

"The initiation was also when Pyrrha Nikos unlocked his aura in the forest," Yu stated sending the footage to Glynda whose anger only seemed to grow upon reviewing it. The footage hadn't been hidden, on the contrary, it was perfectly findable if you knew what you were looking for, but there was so much footage of the initiation from all of the camera's on all of the students that no one would bother to review it all.

"Explain. Now." Glynda demanded of the headmaster who had remained silent throughout the revelation.

Ozpin sighed, stood up and turned to face the window, taking a sip of coffee as he did so.

"You said it yourself, he has great potential," Ozpin stated simply.

"Yes, great potential as a Persona user, but for a huntsman, a Persona shouldn't be a crutch it should a trump card, he should be able to fight at least on the same level as his peers." Yu said exasperatedly "You hired me 'because' I'm a Persona user and not a huntsman. Using a Persona in the real world is draining for me. I had a whole year to practice with mine, and I'm not going to be here next year and I don't think that giving a Persona to a kid who seems to have stopped reading comics and playing video games one day to go and pursue his dream is a good idea."

"You don't know that he might have trained before and simply shown poor results, besides he has a strong tactical mind and has great leadership potential." Ozpin debated.

"Ozpin, great leadership is not enough to survive as a huntsman in this world and you know it," Glynda argued. "Besides, Beacon has a limited number of placements; we don't just throw everyone who applies into the initiation, for Mr Arc to be here someone who worked hard and earned their place had to have been rejected."

Ozpin sighed audibly before sipping his coffee and speaking up again.

"I understand your anger, and I also can understand the points you both are making, but please I chose Mr Arc for a good reason, give him a chance." Ozpin pleaded.

Glynda let out a sigh and shook her head, massaging her temples in frustration.

"Agravaine." The Knight materialised his fist to his chest ready to serve. "I am here My Lord."

"Agravaine has an eye for these kinds of things, so let him watch Jaune, if he can find any reason Jaune should stay, then he stays and trains under Agravaine in his spare time. But if he can't Jaune is gone and we replace him with someone who earned their place here." Yu suggested. "Does that sound fair?"

"Can he be neutral though?" Ozpin asked warily.

"Yes I can, only once have my personal feelings influenced my actions as a knight, and it won't happen again." The Knight vowed with steel resolved assurance.

"Very well." Ozpin agreed with a sigh.

"I agree as well." Glynda chimed in. "If Mr Arc does belong in Beacon as you claim Ozpin, then let it be proven. Let us give him one week."

"One week." Ozpin agreed nodding his head albeit reluctantly.

Agravain gave a short nod and turned around to follow Yu as he left the room and entered the elevator. The doors closed after he pressed the button to go to the ground floor and he felt the slight jolt as it began to move down.

"Is this really such a big deal?" Cu Chulainn asked, "So the kid wants to fight what's the fuss?"

"Were you not paying attention Setanta?" Scathach snapped using his given name. "The boy stole his place at this school from someone who worked hard for it and by his own admission he merely wishes to live up to the glory of his ancestors."

"Ok, that first part may be a good point but come on, not every kid in this school just wants to be a hunter to save people." Cu Chulainn retorted.

"While true, his reasons for stealing that place are still selfish," Scathach stated refusing to budge on her position. "It is made worse by the fact that Huntsman are essential to the survival of civilisation on Remnant. His lack of ability could cost the lives of countless people in the future, people whose lives could have been saved by a person from whom he stole the place in Beacon to begin with."

"Well Ozpin saw something in him, why else would he let this happen?" Cu Chulainn pressed. "And besides we know that he has potential."

"The fact that Ozpin knew is concerning," Chiron chimed in. "Especially considering that Mr Arc did not have his aura unlocked, and his bumbling into a marked deathstalker cave shows an ignorance of the Grimm."

"I shall continue to look around Beacon for a way underground," Katō Danzō the spy and thief from the Edo period stated. "If Ozpin is hiding magic then I shall locate it." The Spy vowed.

"Good Grief this has become quite the situation." Merlin sighed.

Well, Jaune's future was up to Agravaine now. Part of Yu did hope that the Knight would find something worthy in the boy, but he also knew that he could not let those feelings influence the ultimate decision.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

In the land of shadows, Hazel and Arthur both watched as Salem's newest creation stood near the window, a bipedal figure silhouetted by the light streaming through. It experimentally clenched and unclenched its fists. Its body was entirely black like the metal armour of a knight, in stark contrast was a white bone-mask helmet like a Grimm with a red slit like a visor where eyes would be.

"Your Grace, now that your newest creation is completed, what will you do with it, your grace?" Arthur Watts asked, looking at the creature with some fascination.

"I will-"

"Send it to Beacon." Salem was cut off by an eerie, deep sounding voice which came from a black butterfly sat on the table.

"Beacon, but Lord Nyarlothep-"

"If you have created it correctly, then it will survive, but if it does not..." Nyarlothep trailed off, which caused Salem to shiver; he didn't need to tell her of his displeasure.

"A giant nevermore is outside," Salem stated looking to her newest creation. "It shall fly you to Beacon, go there and test your abilities."

The knight nodded and marched out of the building to carry out its orders. A Seer Grimm followed behind it so Salem could watch what happened.

"Will it survive a fight at Beacon?" Hazel inquired as the black butterfly simply vanished as if it was never there to begin with.

"It has quite a few tricks up its sleeves, and it is not so easily killed," Salem replied/

"Your Grace, might I change the subject?" Watts requested.

"Very well Arthur, go ahead." Salem nodded giving her consent.

"Well, I'm sorry to report that all of my contacts, in both Atlas and Mantle have gone silent." He reported looking at his scroll. "Those that are alive are refusing to help me, neither bribery nor threats seem to help."

"Perhaps I can help...persuade them?" Tyrian chuckled his tail twitching in anticipation.

"Do you have any idea why this is?" Hazel asked, looking to the other man.

"Those who would talk to me only said that the Mantle and Atlesian criminal underworlds all obey one man now, known only as The Professor. Even simple pickpockets can't do anything without his say so." Watts stated. "If anyone steps out of line, the police will arrest them within hours; I assume this Professor has eyes and ears everywhere in the kingdom."

After a few minutes of silent contemplation, Salem spoke again.

"This will slow down our plans for Atlas, Arthur try to get into contact with this Professor, negotiate, try to get them on our side."

"As you wish your Grace, but I suspect it will take some time, this Professor doesn't take visits from just anyone." Watts warned.

"That is fine; Time is something I have plenty of."

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Six days passed rather quickly, a bit too quickly for Yu's liking. As agreed Agravaine had watched Jaune, watched his combat classes most carefully and yet still the boy had not a single victory to his name. The Knight barely reacted as Cardin knocked Jaune back, causing him to lose his grip on his shield leaving him with only his sword. Speaking of whom, he and his team had kept their mouths shut as they said they would, they also seemed to be keeping their heads down. With Combat class over nothing eventful happened and so the sixth-day went and the seventh day came.

Weiss had finally rested up enough to be able to attend classes again. They had no classes with Yu today. This was the last day, it wore on until finally, the last class was an assignment handed out by Professor Peach, Glynda took the students out to Forever Fall a mountainous area with many cliffs which is covered by a forest of red-leafed trees, causing the whole area to appear as a dust-red colour, even with the grass a normal green.

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful," Glynda stated at the awe of the students were looking around at the beauty of the unusually coloured forest. "But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you dies while doing so."

"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap." She continued instructing them still holding up a full jar of their objective However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at four o'clock. Have fun!"

With that, the teams all went their separate ways to go and collect the sap they had been instructed to get. Agravaine followed team JNPR from a distance while Yu sat in a tree just looking over the forest in general. He watched Glynda disappear into the forest to go around checking on the student teams individually.

Yu closed his to rest them but opened them when he heard the loud screech of a bird. He looked up to see a giant Nevermore circling the forest a short distance away. It wasn't too much of a problem after all the students had their weapons and could easily take care of it. Then suddenly an explosion blew up smoke from below where it was circling.

"What the hell was that?" Achilles wondered.

An explosion came the direction the thing landed, the Nevermore kept circling overhead. More explosions went off and then Yu felt a sharp pain his chest as Agravain returned to him, then he answered his scroll which had begun to ring a few seconds after.

"Professor Narukami I require your assistance." Glynda requested her voice strained and heavy.

"I'm on my way," Yu replied ending the call and running towards the sounds of battle.

His eyes widened as he saw something fatally wound the Grimm from below, it began to disperse into black smoke which abnormally shot down below the tree line instead of dispersing like it normally did.

"That's probably not good." Cu Chulainn commented

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

A few minutes earlier, Teams RWBY and JNPR were collecting Sap not far from each other.

"Nora stop eating the sap," Ren said sternly and yet exhaustedly.

"But it's so tasty." She objected her face splattered with the stuff.

"We'll set aside an extra jar for you to have later," Jaune promised.

"Fine." Nora conceded sulkily handing her half-eaten jar back to Ren to refill.

"Ruby stop fussing over me and let go," Weiss yelled trying to push her partner off of her who was currently clinging tightly to her.

"She just wants to be sure you're alright," Yang told her.

"I spent a week sleeping in the infirmary, I'm fine." Weiss protested, still trying to pry Ruby off.

"Come on Partner I just-WOAH!" Ruby cried out as the tree she and Weiss were gathering sap from exploded into wood chips as its top half was ripped right off.

As the woodchips and the flurry of leaves settled down the teams coughed as the smoke cleared to reveal a tall armoured figure standing there with the tree in its hands. As everything settled down they could see that its helmet was a bone-white in stark contrast to the deep black of its armoured body, from out of the visor a pair of red eyes devoid of pupils peered out at them.

"Hey what the hell is your problem!" Yang yelled waving her fist angrily at the figure.

"Yang!" Weiss snapped having pulled out Myrtenaster and gotten into a combat stance. "That's a Grimm, not a person!"

As if in response to Weiss's declaration the Grimm lifted the tree trunk over its head, leaves fell from the branches as it did so and threw it in Pyrrha's direction forcing her to duck. As it sailed over her head and knocked over another tree causing a loud crash it caused a flurry of leaves to shoot into the air.

Yang and Nora both reacted charging with their respective weapons at the enemy. The Grimm simply stood as both the Warhammer and the Gauntlet made contact, making a loud clang upon contact but that was all. The Grimm simply stood there barely affected by the blows from two of the physically strongest first years.

Their eyes widened but before they could pull back it grabbed them and flung them into the air, it then grabbed Magnhild spun around and use the weapon to smash both of them hard, sending them crashing together through three nearby trees sending them into unconsciousness their aura breaking as this happened.

"Yang!" "Nora!"

Pyrrha shifted Miló into rifle mode and fired upon the Grimm only for the shot to ding off of its armour. Ren, Blake and Ruby all shifted their weapons into ranged mode and joined in the barrage.

The Grimm stared at Ruby and its eyes seemed to widen as it vanished behind smoke kicked up by the barrage of bullets and a blast of fire created by some dust from Weiss. Then suddenly something red shot of the smoke and before anyone knew it the ground beneath their feet exploded sending them all into the air and back to the ground where their aura shattered.

Everyone except for Ruby who was now being held by her head in the air by the Grimm.

"Let go, let go of me!" Ruby cried as she kicked at it to no avail.

"Put her down!" Jaune screamed as he charged the Grimm and swung at the elbow joint of its armoured arm. The strike bounced off but the creature flinched ever so slightly.

"Move aside boy!" A new male voiced commanded, Jaune obeyed on instinct as a figure fell from the sky. "BRAVE BLADE!"

A massive sound of metal upon metal echoed as a sword crashed into the upper arm which held Ruby, the amour where it had been struck cracked black ichor spray out from it. The force caused the Grimm to recoil in pain but not release Ruby.

"Hmm...that strike should have cut its arm clean off." The aiding person was a tall rugged man with black hair and armour much like a knight from the tales of old. "Its eyes are now yellow? You are no mere Grimm that is for sure. Well, it matters not I am Agravaine, knight of Camelot and I shall be your opponent now."

The Grimm stared at Agravaine its yellow eyes now having pupils and narrowed them at him, its free hand was out of sight.

"Boy, back away this creature...!" Agravaine was interrupted as it spun around and the knight suddenly found a red orb of energy right in front of his chest and before he could react it exploded tearing a massive chunk of his torso. "Curse you..."

Suddenly a tree surrounded by a purple aura slammed into the Grimm's exposed chest forcing it to release Ruby as it flew backwards. Jaune was able to grab her and quickly move out of the way and off to the side to the rest of his friend s who were now getting back up.

"Children please stay back I will take care of this," Glynda stated as she stepped forward her riding crop at the ready.

"Professor, this is no mere Grimm." Agravaine stated despite the massive hole in his chest, "It is also a shadow with high resistance to physical attacks and it can shoot energy blasts."

Glynda nodded in confirmation as the knight faded in a flurry of blue dust returning to the Sea of Souls. A sphere of red energy appeared in its hand, Glynda braced herself only for the ball to be fired at the defenceless students who were still recovering, using her power she created a shield glyph to protect them which trembled upon the impact but held.

The deputy headmistress prepared to counter-attack only for an energy bolt to form in each hand and be fired at the shield glyph one after another, by the time the second one hit the Grimm already had another prepared to fire. Releasing the predicament and seeing the students were not fit to move Glynda focused on maintaining the shield.

'It knows I can't attack and protect the students at the same time.' She thought with annoyance suddenly it placed both hands together palms outstretched and an arcane circle appeared with a familiar symbol in the centre. 'Salem!'

Then the assault renewed even faster than before. What was a steady pair of blasts one after another became a veritable machine gun assault, the difference being that the strength of the blasts only dropped marginally. Glynda made a scroll call to Yu for back up but it would take time for him to get here. Time she wasn't sure her barrier could last.

Behind the Glyph, Weiss could see the combat instructors struggle. She knew she probably should but there was no other way.

'This is an emergency after all.' A familiar voice said from within which seemed to twinkle like ice. 'It is better to ask for forgiveness than permission.'

Summoning the feeling she had from the trip to the fountain Weiss summoned the Arcana and crushed it.

"Come forth, Anastasia!" In a swirl of blue flames, the Persona answered her call and before the Grimm could react its assault was halted as its arms and torso were encased in ice. Its eyes widened at the sight of the persona as it realised the situation and began trying to free itself.

Suddenly a huge sharp icicle formed in front of Professor Goodwitch.

"Professor its right arm is still damaged do it now!" Weiss cried out quickly.

The professor didn't speak merely reacted, using her semblance she lifted the icicle and rotated it like a saw blade and sent it flying at the Grimm who could not move due to Anastasia freezing its legs to the ground. By the time its arm was freed, it was too late and sharp icicle impacted the damaged part of the arm and sliced it clean off.

For the first time since the battle had begun the Grimm let out a noise, a shriek of pain which sounded vaguely human-like but so distorted that it was impossible to tell whether it was male or female. The severed limb fell to the ground and dissipated much a regular Grimm would when killed.

Eventually, its pained cries subsided and another energy bolt formed in its remaining arm however instead of firing it at its foes it shot upwards blasted the giant nevermore which had until now been circling overhead. The nevermore died instantly and fell from the sky turning to black smoke as it did so. However, instead of the smoke vanishing, it soared towards the knight Grimm and seemed to be sucked into the stump of its former arm.

Within seconds a new arm grew to replace the previous one, new armour even forming over it to the shock of Weiss and Glynda.

"It can regenerate? Can Grimm do that?" Weiss asked,

"Some can, not many but they exist but none do so like that," Glynda stated, it was serious trouble if this one could simply heal itself by basically cannibalising any nearby Grimm. This was serious trouble she hoped...

"Weiss freeze it!" Needed no further motivation and Anastasia did so freezing the Grimm form the torso down before it could move.

"BEGONE BEAST!" A large muscle-bound figure fell from the sky lightning enveloped hammer in hand and smashed the Grimm hard. The lightning exploded outwards and caused a large explosion. When the light and electricity finally died away the Grimm was gone all that remained was a crater and a large scorched area of grass and trees. "HAHA, another victory for Thor!"

"You didn't do it alone," Yu said as he walked into the clearing.

"Of course not but-" Thor was cut off as Yu sent him back to the Sea of Souls, he really didn't want to listen to his bragging right now.

As Yu walked up to see if everyone was alright he was watched by a shadow trapped within a shiny red orb which had rolled into the bushes upon its body's destruction. It vanished returning home to its creator, next time things would be different, this it vowed.

[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]

Several hours later, the teams had recovered, after a quick trip to infirmary who confirmed that their injuries were not too serious and good nights rest would allow their Aura to take care of them RWBY and JNPR were given the rest of the day off while Goodwitch, Yu and Ozpin discussed the new Grimm which had attacked them, which Yu had named ID. By virtue of being the one to defeat it. The name while strange he promised to explain later.

For now Ruby Rose was leaving a weapon store in Vale. She was waiting outside for Jaune whom she had dragged along and was still inside looking at some swords. As she grew impatient she heard a voice drifting outside of the alleyway nearby and curiously went to investigate, Crescent Rose still holstered just in case.

The alleyway itself was filled with the usual boxes, trash and discarded electronics. Rummaging amongst it all was a man with unkempt black hair and grey eyes wearing a black suit with a long-sleeved white shirt, a crooked dark red tie and brown field boots.

"Come on where is it?" He asked in a panicked tone of voice as he dug through the trash looking for something. "Come on, or the chief is gonna kill me."

"Hey what's wrong?" Ruby asked calling out the man who jumped in surprise.

"Gah! Oh...hey you're that kid who stopped Torchwick from robbing that dust store a while back right? Ruby Rose?" The man asked with a goofy grin on his face.

"Yeah, it was nothing." Ruby chuckled rubbing the back of her head bashfully. "So what are you looking for?"

"Oh well, I'm a rookie cop you see." The man pulled out a badge 'Vale Police Department' emblazoned on it. "It's my first day and when I was patrolling this street I went to check out this alley but I dropped my gun, please help me find it." He begged pleadingly. "If my boss finds out I lost gun on the first day I'll be fired. Please?"

"Don't worry I'll find it!" Ruby promised and begun searching.

"Oh, thanks you're a real lifesaver." The officer said before turning his back to her.

Shifting aside boxes it didn't take Ruby long before she spotting something glimmering in the dim lights of the alleyway. She picked up a revolver, to specific a New Nambu M60, strange she could swear that Vale PD carried Nine Millimetre handguns as their standard weapons.

"Ah, you found it thank god." The cop smiled with a grateful expression on his face as Ruby handed the back to him barrel first.

"No problem, By the way, I never got your name." Ruby realised.

"Oh, it's Adachi, Tohru Adachi." Adachi's seemed to grin at her and his eyes seemed to change colour to a sickly yellow, it had to be a trick of the light. "Zionga."

Before Ruby could let go bolts of electricity came from the gun and surged into her body and before she knew it darkness took her and she fell to the floor unconscious.

"Ha, kids these days, way too trusting." Adachi chuckled but stopped as he heard the opening and closing of the door of the weapon shop nearby and the sound of footsteps.

"Ruby!" Jaune called out as he came close.

"Hey over here!" Adachi called out to him, Jaune spotted Ruby and ran towards her, Adachi pulled out his badge. "I'm a cop I came into this alley when I heard something and found her like this."

Adachi backed off a bit as Jaune sprinted towards his unconscious friend knelt next to her.

"Ruby? Ruby, what's wrong?" Before Jaune could do anything before Adachi clubbed him over the back of the head with the but of his revolver knocking him unconscious too.

"Holy crap, that was too easy and you dumbasses want to be Hunters?" Adachi sighed and shook his head. "Kids these days, welp time to get moving." With that Adachi reached into Ruby's pocket and withdrew her scroll. "S-U-M-M-E-R." He input the password and unlocked the scroll and pressed a button to begin recording a video, then set the scroll down on a box opposite the two.

Adachi promptly pulled a blanket off of an object revealing it to be a large solid screen TV. He then lifted Ruby and pushed her through the screen which rippled like water, Jaune followed not soon after vanishing completely. Then Adachi went over to the scroll and stopped the recording. He opened the contacts and found 'Yu Narukami' he then attached the video and sent it, then set the scroll down out of view so it wouldn't be stolen.

"You two." He addressed and pair of White Fang members who had been hidden from sight. "Take the TV out of here get it back to the hideout, I need to keep an eye on our newest guests. Make sure to leave the scroll where it is or else."

With that Adachi passed through the TV screen. The two goons lifted the TV and hauled it away as instructed, leaving the scroll where it was.


End file.
